Kill & Collect
by LEIDEE D
Summary: She had nothing left to live for and nothing left to care about. She was a lethal phantom that did as she was told. She had nothing to lose… until she met her; a blonde that turned her world upside down. In this suspenseful love story, a killer must decide if her code is more important than her heart.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I'm back bitches! I hope everyone has been doing well. Are you ready for an intense, sexy, Rizzles adventure?! I've been working hard on brainstorming this one so I hope you enjoy this first chapter. Happy reading!

**Kill & Collect**

**Chapter 1**

It happened again. Her moments of sheer terror and helplessness that changed her life forever; that changed _her_ forever had been relived once again. The tall brunette wandered the nearly deserted streets of New York going nowhere in particular. She had no place to be. Not now. But after waking up in a cold sweat, shaking from the images that still haunted her past, she needed something. She needed to get away from her nightmares… memories of whom she used to be. Only one thing could remedy that right now. A drink. She had an urge to feel that liberating burn of alcohol sliding down her throat. It was calling to her. The brunette took in her surroundings, looking up and down the street. She soon spotted a blue neon light across the way that read, BAR. She sighed with relief, producing a visible puff of breath in the cool night air. The nippy wind blew back her long dark hair from her face. Her black leather jacket defended her against the cool breeze as she headed towards the small building. Her tight dark jeans and black boots seemed to blend into the darkness around her like a shadow… which is what she was. A shadow.

She pushed the door open and stepped into the bar. Her eyes took in the room, seeing only three or four other patrons. The place seemed decent enough and the less people the better; the less interaction with others, the better. She took a seat on a barstool. The bartender, a burly looking middle aged man, slid a napkin in front of her with an expectant look on his face. "What can I getcha?"

"Two vodka shots," she muttered.

He nodded and stepped away.

The brunette placed her leather fingerless gloved hands on the bar, lacing them together. The place was eerily silent and everyone was alone, in different areas of the room. Either sitting at table, passed out at a table or shooting pool. She received her drinks and immediately knocked back the first shot. Temporarily closing her eyes, she basked in the sting that ran down her throat. Yes, she so needed that.

After a few moments, she felt someone sit beside her. She did not care to acknowledge this person's presence and threw back her second shot. She grimaced at the comforting burn.

"I'll have a cabernet," a smooth female voice said beside her.

A woman? The brunette did not recall seeing a woman in the bar when she had walked in nor did anyone enter after her. Perhaps this woman was in the restroom when she had come into the bar.

When the bartender returned with the other woman's order, the brunette motioned to him. "A beer," she said.

"This one is on me," the other woman spoke up, also addressing the bartender.

The brunette stiffened, still not looking towards the stranger. The last thing she wanted was company. "Thanks, but no thanks," she tiredly muttered.

The bartender looked between them, not sure what to do.

A well-manicured hand slid across the bar and into the brunette's view as money was handed off to the bartender. "I insist," the woman said.

"One beer coming up," the bartender happily obliged.

As she waited for her drink, the brunette could feel the other woman's eyes on her. Though she was one to avoid interaction with others as much as possible, she was curious to know who was sitting next to her this time. She lazily ran a hand through her dark hair before slowly turning her head towards the woman.

Alluring hazel eyes stared back at her. Wow. Any words of rejection intended for the stranger instantly died on her tongue. The woman had honey-blonde hair with curls that framed her face perfectly, cheekbones with a light blush and soft red lips that held a dangerous smirk. She was the most beautiful woman the brunette had ever laid her eyes on. The bartender suddenly placed her drink in front of her, causing the brunette to snap out of her stupor. She grasped her beer and pried it open.

"Hello," the woman said.

The brunette took a sip from her beer bottle, not acknowledging the greeting. She figured if she ignored her long enough the woman would get the hint. Most people did. She didn't.

They drank in silence. As they sat a while longer, the brunette could feel the other woman's lingering gaze on her. She usually found when someone stared at her she became unsettled but for some reason, from this particular woman, she did not feel that at all. This was unsettling in itself.

With a heavy sigh, the brunette turned her head towards the honey blonde and saw that she was indeed unabashedly staring at her. "Problem?"

The blonde tilted her head slightly, studying the brunette. "No. You interest me that's all."

The brunette turned her head back towards the bar. "I didn't come in here to be stared at."

"What did you come in here to do?"

"I'm doing it," she replied, before taking another swig of her beer.

"Well, sometimes rare opportunities present themselves to us… and we end up doing something other than what we intended. Rare opportunities… like me."

There was no doubt now that this woman was coming onto her. Men and women often approached her and she would easily ignore them. The strangeness of this situation was the brunette knew she should not be so easily distracted by this woman. But she was.

Unconsciously, her eyes slowly drifted back over but her focus landed on the woman's impressive cleavage. Unable to stop herself her eyes moved down to take in the blonde's tight red dress that seemed to be painted on. Traveling further down the woman's enticing body, she noticed the matching 'fuck me' heels. Her pulse quickened. The blonde seemed so inviting, so perfect, so… wrong. The brunette soon realized what she was doing and quickly turned away.

A small chuckle emanated from the stranger and the sound sent a tingle down the brunette's spine. No. She couldn't feel this. How could she allow herself to checkout a complete stranger so openly?

"I think I interest you too," the woman purred in amusement. She took a sip of her wine and placed the glass back on the bar, never taking her eyes off the brunette.

The taller woman felt heat rising in her cheeks. What the fuck was wrong with her? She knew she could easily lose herself in this stranger, that's what was wrong with her. But she stubbornly refused to succumb. She had to.

"Listen…" the honey blonde began. "I can tell you're not one for conversation and that's fine. So, let's cut to the run."

The brunette frowned at the other woman's words. She stared at her beer bottle as she rotated the base in circles on the bar. "Chase."

"Excuse me?"

She looked at the beautiful woman beside her with a hint of amusement. "Cut to the chase. Not run."

A small smile formed on the blonde's lips and it was so endearing to the brunette she had to turn away again.

"Yes… cut to the chase." The blonde corrected herself. She leaned in closer to the taller woman and the brunette immediately smelled a citrus scent of fruit and roses. It was intoxicating. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to fight her pull towards the other woman.

"I find you very attractive," the blonde whispered boldly. "And… I assume you think the same about me."

The brunette swallowed the lump in her throat and remained silent. She kept her eyes down as her half-gloved hands began to fidget with one another.

The blonde tilted her head and frowned slightly, trying to assess the other woman's body language. "Unless, I'm wrong?"

The brunette exhaled a shaky breath before hesitantly meeting the blonde's gaze. God, those hazel eyes They were so deep with desire and curiosity; so beautiful. The brunette felt tightness in her chest. Something she had not felt in a long time and her heart skipped. They stared at each other a few moments longer until the brunette spoke.

"You're not wrong," her raspy voice replied.

A twinkle of hope shined in the blonde's eyes but the brunette broke the connection once again by looking away. This could not happen. She had to get out of there. The brunette suddenly stood and reached into her jacket pocket for some cash. "I have to go," she gruffly said, still not looking at the blonde.

"What?"

Ignoring the other woman, she tossed a few bills on the bar and turned to leave. She walked a couple steps towards the door but was stopped when the blonde stepped in front of her.

"Wait. If I'm not wrong, why are you leaving?" She softly demanded.

The brunette could see the utter confusion in the other woman's eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "I have to go."

"Why?"

The brunette looked deeply into the other woman's eyes trying to convey a silent understanding. "I have to go," she repeated with a bit more conviction.

The blonde seemed to receive the message. The brunette stepped to one side but was once again blocked. "Well, before you do," the blonde began. "I'd like a dance with you."

The brunette frowned slightly at the unexpected request. "What?"

The blonde stepped closer, looking into the brunette's dark brown eyes. "One dance…" she said, holding up one finger. "…and you have my word, I will leave you alone for the rest of the night."

"I don't dance."

"Please, I…" the honey blonde lowered her eyes almost shyly. "I would really enjoy your company, even if it's just for a short while." After a moment, she looked into the brunette's eyes once more. Her expression seemed pleading.

The brunette saw the uncertainty and vulnerability in the blonde's eyes and the sight melted her. She knew she could easily step around this woman and leave her in the bar despite this small proposition, but there was something about her that the brunette could not resist. A connection she had never felt with any other human being in her lifetime. Part of her was curious to see where this path would lead. Despite the warning bells and whistles going off in her head she suddenly found herself giving a silent nod. The blonde grinned from ear to ear and the brunette felt her stomach flip.

The blonde turned her head, looking across the room, then back towards the brunette. "I'm going to pick a song on the jukebox. Promise you won't run away?"

The brunette lightly smirked and nodded again, receiving another smile in return. The blonde then headed across the bar. She made her smirk. She had not smiled let alone smirked at anyone since… a long time. The taller woman watched the blonde approach the jukebox. As she contemplated a song selection, the brunette could not stop her eyes from roaming over the other woman's curvy body. The way that red dress fit her perfectly, how those high heels pronounced the strength and tone of her legs… the sight made the brunette catch her breath.

Suddenly, the song, 'I'm So Tired of Being Alone' by Al Green began to play over the bar. The brunette felt her anxiety climb as the blonde turned and slowly approached her. She walked with purpose and confidence. A woman who knew what she wanted. The brunette couldn't take her eyes off of her. She nervously balled her half gloved hands into fists temporarily before releasing them.

_I'm so tired of being alone_

_I'm so tired of on-my-own_

_Won't you help me girl_

_Just as soon as you can_

When the blonde was close enough, she grasped the brunette's hand and to the taller woman's surprise she did not have the urge to flinch or pull away. Not from her. This stranger made her feel...

_She made her feel_.

Soon the blonde led her to an open space on the floor and turned to her. With their eyes locked, the blonde guided the brunette's hands to her slim waist before resting her own hands on the taller woman's shoulders. Contact. They stood a respectable distance from one another and slowly began to sway to the beat of the music.

_I guess you know that I, uh, I love you so_

_Even though you don't want me no more_

The brunette lowered her gaze from the hazel eyes before her, unable to understand how this woman was making her feel. Instead she chose to focus on the other woman's shoulder or the floor. She felt out of her element… almost vulnerable. She never let anyone this close. Why this woman? The blonde's voice broke her thoughts.

"For someone who doesn't dance you move very well."

The brunette looked up then and found amused hazel eyes studying her. A ghost of a smile formed on the taller woman's lips but she did not reply. She was not sure how to respond. She lowered her eyes once more.

The blonde stared at her a while longer. "Are you okay?"

The brunette was taken aback by the question and met hazel eyes once again. No one had asked her that in years. She nodded silently but did not look away this time. The blonde moved in a little closer and the brunette could feel the heat radiating from the woman in front of her. The muscles in her jaw tighten nervously.

"Will you hold me?" The blonde whispered.

That voice. It sounded so… sad; possibly even lonely. Nothing like the confidence that oozed out of the woman she met early. The brunette could not put her finger on it, but this woman had her. At this moment, she had her like no one else in her entire life. She should push her away. She should leave this bar right now and never look back, but she couldn't. Instinctively, the brunette gripped the other woman's waist a little tighter and gently pulled the blonde flush against her front. The blonde gasped at the contact and held a pleasantly surprised look on her face. Her hands shifted up from the brunette's shoulders and wrapped around her neck. She then slowly leaned her head against the taller woman's shoulder. Warmth spread throughout the brunette's body and her heart beat sped up. She felt a need to protect this woman. To always keep her safe. They held each other close and two sets of eyes closed as they lost themselves in the music. Al Green's soothing voice carried them away.

_Ya see, sometimes I hold my arms, I say mmm hmm hmm_

_Yeah baby_

_Meeting you has proven to me_

_To be my greatest dream, yeah_

The movement of their bodies together seemed so natural and flawless. They fit. The taller woman shivered slightly and closed her eyes tighter as she held the blonde close. There was nothing like the comforting warmth of another human being. She missed this and never thought she would. The blonde was making her yearn for a moment like this always. Holding her… smelling her… it felt right.

The song came to an end.

The blonde slowly stepped out of the brunette's embrace and looked into dark brown eyes. They both seemed at a loss for words. That was way more than a simple dance and both of them knew that. The brunette held her breath as the blonde slowly leaned up and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

She gave the brunette a genuine look and smiled sweetly. "Thank you for the dance," the blonde said.

She dropped her hands from the brunette's shoulders and turned to leave. The brunette felt her usual emptiness return when the woman pulled away and she knew in that instant, she couldn't let her go. The blonde had only made it two steps before the brunette impulsively grasped her wrist and turned her back around to face her. Surprised hazel eyes looked up at her as she stepped into the blonde's personal space. Their eyes remained locked in an intense gaze as their faces slowly drifted closer together. She could feel the blonde's breath ghost her lips as their mouths were only an inch apart. Soon both sets of eyes fluttered closed before their lips tenderly made contact for the first time.

The brunette instantly melted as soon as their lips met. The shock of electricity between them was indescribable and her heart was beating ten times faster than normal. Her hands tightened around the blonde's waist as gentle hands slowly crept into her dark hair. The kiss lasted for a few moments, breaking into several soft kisses, and drawing out to one long kiss. It was nothing hot and heavy, just soft.

They finally pulled back and looked into each other's eyes. They both felt a pull towards one another. Their connection seemed to run deeper than lust. Just from a kiss. The brunette knew she was in trouble. They were both rendered speechless once again. The blonde's fingers gently played with the hairs at the nape of the brunette's neck as they looked at one another. The brunette wanted to close her eyes at the touch but fought to keep them open.

"Um… my hotel is not too far from here," the blonde finally said.

The brunette swallowed, knowing what the other woman was about to propose.

"I want you to come back there with me," she whispered, breathily. "Will you?"

The brunette could see the desire burning in the hazel eyes before her. She had to have this woman. She needed to have this woman. "Yeah," she rasped before she could stop herself.

The blonde smiled, pleased to hear an affirmative response. "Okay… let me just get my purse."

"Okay," the brunette responded, suddenly feeling like a nervous teenager.

The blonde stepped over to the bar and grabbed a small bag from an unoccupied barstool. She then turned to the brunette with a smile before grasping her hand. Again, the brunette could not understand why she felt comfortable with her. She was holding hands with a complete stranger, about to embark on a one night stand.

They walked in silence to the hotel. The cool night air was not affecting either one of them as the heat of anticipation warmed their bodies. The journey through the hotel lobby and up the elevator seemed to pass by in a haze. Soon the brunette found herself standing behind the honey blonde as she opened the door to the hotel room.

This was really happening. Again, her instincts told her to leave but she couldn't. She followed the blonde inside and they stepped into the darkened room. The door soon clicked closed behind them and the lights were quickly turned on. The brunette looked around at the simple room. There was a king-sized bed, a widescreen TV… and a gorgeous woman staring straight at her from the foot of the bed.

With graceful ease, the blonde reached one hand up and began to unzip the side of her dress. The brunette watched with bated breath as the red fabric slipped from the blonde's body. Her heart stopped when the material finally pooled to the carpet, fully revealing more of the other woman's body to her. The blonde stood confidently before her in a black lacy bra, matching panties, and red heels. She was a goddess. The brunette's eyes raked up and down the blonde's form as the woman slowly approached her. As hazel eyes darkened with pure lust, the brunette became mesmerized. This woman wanted her. This gorgeous, unbelievably sexy woman wanted her.

As the blonde came within arm's reach, the brunette lowered her eyes, almost bashfully. God, she made her nervous too. The blonde stood inches in front of her and gently cupped the brunette's face. As soon as the brunette found the courage to look into hazel eyes, the blonde pulled her down into an aggressive kiss. The brunette quickly caught on and wrapped the blonde in a strong embrace, flush against her body. The blonde pushed the leather jacket off the taller woman's shoulders and let it fall to the floor. As the kiss deepened, they soon maneuvered to the bed and the blonde turned them so the brunette's back was now to the mattress.

The blonde broke the kiss with a pleasurable hum before pushing the taller woman onto the bed. The brunette watched in lustful anticipation as the blonde quickly kicked off her heels before practically jumping the brunette, straddling her hips. Both of them shared a soft smile before the blonde then leaned in, devouring the other woman's mouth in a lustful kiss. As their tongues moved anxiously against each other the brunette felt arousal overload. She had not felt this animal like fever since she was a hot blooded teenager. She wanted this woman. She wanted to feel her hot naked flesh against her own.

Her hands ran along the sides of the blonde's thighs and up her back, feeling the tremors of passion humming through the blonde's body. Suddenly, the blonde broke the kiss and sat up. Breathing heavily, the brunette looked up at her. The blonde's face was flushed and lips bruised. They stared at each other a moment before the blonde roughly gripped the collar of the brunette's black undershirt and pulled her up into a crushing kiss. The brunette growled and wrapped her arms around the blonde's slim waist, pulling her closer. The blonde's hips began to grind into her crotch as delicate hands burrowed into her dark locks. After a few moments of heavy kissing, the blonde grabbed the brunette's hands and moved them so they are in between their bodies. She placed a soft kiss on the brunette's lips before leaning back slightly and looking down at the half-gloved hands.

The brunette looked up at the other woman, wondering what she was thinking.

"Can I take these off? I want to feel your hands on me," she breathed.

The muscles in the brunette's jaw tensed and her body stiffened. She lowered her eyes with uncertainty and swallowed nervously. Her hands were covered for a reason.

The blonde seemed to notice the drastic change in the other woman's mood and became concerned. She slid her hands from the taller woman's up to strong forearms. "May I say something?"

The brunette hesitantly raised her eyes and met the blonde's gaze. Something in the way those hazel eyes stared at her made the brunette's heart beat faster.

"I don't know what it is about you," the blonde began. "But… I feel like I know you… like I've known you a long time… I feel as though I could tell you my deepest darkest secrets and they would be safe with you." At the brunette's unreadable stare, the blonde let out a nervous chuckle and shook her head. "I'm sorry, that must sound absurd to you," the blonde said, shyly looking away. "I can't believe I said all of that-"

"No," the brunette huskily whispered. The blonde looked into her eyes once more. "I… I feel that too… with you." She truly did.

The blonde smiled softly and a small sigh of relief escaped her. She delicately cupped the brunette's face in her hands and the taller woman closed her eyes at the gentle touch. Jesus. What was this woman doing to her? The blonde slowly leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. The brunette's head was spinning with a high she had never felt before. Who was this woman?

The blonde reached for her hands once more and looked into the brunette's eyes to make sure it was okay. When the brunette made no move to stop her, she proceeded to carefully remove the gloves. The brunette held her breath as her right hand was revealed.

The blonde immediately spotted the angry scar on top of the hand. It was at least an inch long and was slightly raised from healing over time. The brunette looked up at the other woman's face for a reaction, but the blonde's face was unreadable. She removed the other glove and saw another scar that practically matched the other hand. The brunette swallowed nervously, wondering how the blonde would react. The blonde held each hand in her own and gently began to run her fingertips over the scars. The brunette shivered at the touch and held her breath. She had never let anyone look at her old wounds this closely before, nor touch them. It made her feel weak and vulnerable... but not with her. She could not explain it, but she felt as though she could trust the woman sitting in her lap. The blonde turned her hands over and saw that the brunette's hands had been punctured straight through. The brunette expected the usual questions. _What happened? How did this happen? Who did this to you? _

But none of those questions were uttered from the other woman's lips. Without a word, the blonde slowly brought one of her scarred hands to her soft lips and placed a tender kiss on the palm. The brunette closed her eyes at the gentleness and warmth filled her entire body. The blonde also did the same to her other hand.

The brunette opened her eyes and looked up into soft hazel. So much was being said through their gentle stare, no words were necessary. The brunette stared back with wonder into those caring eyes that seemed to look into her soul. _Who are you? Why do I have this overwhelming need to keep you?_ The urge to be closer to this woman overwhelmed the brunette and she instinctively reached both hands into the blonde's hair and pulled her down into an aggressive kiss.

The blonde eagerly reciprocated and a pleasurable hum emanated from her throat. The kiss soon turned aggressive and hungry. The blonde worked on lifting the hem of the brunette's shirt and the taller woman raised her hands, allowing the blonde to remove it from her body. Their lips crashed together once more in a fevered frenzy. A tongue peaked out, against the brunette's and she opened her mouth, fully allowing the blonde entrance. They both moaned as the kiss deepened. The blonde pushed forward and soon the brunette was on her back with an extremely willing blonde on top of her. Their labored breathing filled room as the heat of passion took over them.

**A/N: Please let me know what you think! I love to hear your reactions like always!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Nice. 172 followers and growing with only one chapter! You all are awesome! Also, I'm glad you guys are loving the story so far. More things will be revealed about both women as we go along. But for now, I like keeping the mystery. Thanks for joining me for this ride!**

* * *

**Kill & Collect**

**Chapter 2**

Buzz... Buzz... The repetitive noise drew the brunette from her slumber. Her eyes cracked open and she took in the surroundings of the darkened, unfamiliar room. The hotel. She then felt a warm hand on her abdomen. She shifted her head carefully to the right and saw the face of a gorgeous woman sleeping peacefully beside her. The blonde. She began to retrace the events of the past few hours. The bar, the dance, the extremely hot sex. The pieces all fell together. Her attention was soon drawn back to the buzzing. The noise was coming from her leather jacket on the floor. The brunette stealthily slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake the blonde. Standing nude in the middle of the hotel room, she reached down for her jacket and fished out her cell phone from the pocket.

"Yeah," she quietly answered.

"Report to location B76 in thirty minutes." The line disconnected.

Time to work. No questions. She looked at the time on her phone, 4:45am. She realized she had only been asleep an hour tops. The brunette quickly and quietly gathered up her clothing and got dressed.

As she threw on her leather jacket, her eyes briefly fell on the slumbering woman in the bed. If only things were different. If only she were a normal human being. Then maybe... The brunette shook her head and went for the door, but something stopped her. A pull towards the other woman that she could not deny. She slowly turned back towards the bed and found herself walking over to the sleeping woman. She watched the blonde for a while, thinking about what they had shared. The connection between them had been intense and unlike anything she had ever encountered before. She had felt alive… and it felt good. A ghost of a smile was on the blonde's lips as she inhaled and exhaled peacefully. Who was this woman? She had made the brunette feel special and like a human being again. But now she had to leave.

The brunette carefully leaned down and gently pressed a kiss to the blonde's temple. She leaned back and her eyes lingered on the woman for a moment. This was goodbye. She would never see this woman again and that fact was disheartening. Extremely disheartening, but that was how it had to be. The brunette quickly crushed those feelings and headed out the door, never looking back. She had a job to do.

* * *

The brunette arrived to the specified location, on time as instructed. The destination was in an alley downtown that was well hidden and deserted. Within seconds, a man appeared from the shadows, holding a large manila envelope. She had seen the man before. He was one of the many flunkies that worked for the main man that called the shots. She took the file without a word and the man walked away. This was her life now. Receiving files in the darkness of the night. Files that contained information on the person she had to assassinate. A picture, location and time. That was all she was provided. That was all she needed. Kill and collect, no questions asked. This was her code.

Within an hour she was positioned on a rooftop, overlooking an apartment building. Her target would be arriving soon. With her sniper rifle setup to perfection, she aimed with a keen eye, peering through the scope cross-hairs. The target soon emerged from the apartment building. She pulled the trigger without hesitation and a single bullet tore through the man's chest, straight through his heart. Target eliminated. Unfeeling, the brunette quickly packed up her equipment and stealthily fled the area. When she was clear she pulled out her cell phone and hit speed dial. The line connected and she knew it was him listening.

"It's done," she said.

Without waiting for a reply, she hung up and tossed the phone into the nearest trashcan.

* * *

**2 weeks later… **

Durable sneakers pounded the pavement of Central Park at a steady pace as the brunette jogged her early morning route. A few others were out but most of New York was still soundly resting in their beds. This was the best time of her day. No missions. No assignments; just the cool breeze blasting against her face and the fresh air filling her lungs. These moments to herself were rare. Moments that almost made her normal and she could temporarily touch a small snippet of the woman she used to be.

That woman's name was Jane… Jane Rizzoli. The name seemed so foreign to her now; a distant anomaly that was now erased from her past, present, and future. Something she had willingly chosen to erase just a few years ago. 'Jane' used to get up and run early in the morning. 'Jane' used to hang out with her colleagues at the bar. 'Jane' would spend a Sunday evening sharing dinner with her family. 'Jane' watched sports games with her brothers. Hell,' Jane' even dated every once and a while. But Jane Rizzoli no longer existed. She was only a shell of that woman.

She was nameless now… faceless… a shadow. A killer.

With trained determination, the brunette pushed those memories out of her mind. She jogged a little faster, pushing herself as she hit a steep portion of the path. Her strong legs carried her further and further away. As if she was trying to run away from those memories. She refused to think of her past. She was conditioned to be indifferent, unremorseful, unfeeling… that was the life she had chosen. Kill the target and collect the money. She didn't care who the target was, what they did, or what they meant to others. This was her job. The job was her life.

Finishing her morning run, the brunette climbed the steps of her building. She had no neighbors. The building only led up to her loft up on the second floor. She opened the door and immediately stripped off her dampened sweatshirt. It was a nice space she was set up in this time. High ceilings, wood floors, a stylish kitchen with all the utilities needed, a den with a television and furniture, and a large bed. This had been her home for only two months now. Previously, she was in Dallas and before that Los Angeles. She never knew where she would be told to live next or why. She just simply went where she was told. If she needed to be in New York, she'd be here. If she had to be in Seattle, she'd be there. It could be from a few weeks to a year. Nothing was permanent.

After chugging down a bottle of water, she headed to her bathroom in desperate need of a shower. As she stripped down, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She stared into her own darkened brown eyes. They were so empty… so drained from a tormented past… so joyless. But what did she have to be joyful about these days?

She stepped into the shower and immediately allowed the semi-warm spray to rain over her head. Closing her eyes, her mind began to drift once more… not about her past life but to _that_ night. To the night she met that woman. For the past couple weeks her thoughts would be constantly inhabited by 'her' and their encounter. No matter how hard she tried, she could not shake that night. She could not erase the mystery blonde her from her thoughts. She could still feel her, smell her, taste her, as though everything had just happened. Was that normal?

As she began to lather shampoo into her long dark hair, she allowed her thoughts to wander back to that night.

_The blonde had forcefully shoved the brunette's hand between her legs and quivered at the touch. __The brunette felt the dampness of the other woman's arousal through silk panties. Their eyes locked as she began to gently stroke the blonde through the laced material and the blonde let out a soft moan, beginning to rock her hips._

_"Uh... oh..." the blonde moaned._

_Ripples of excitement ran through the brunette as she heard the blonde's sighs of pleasure. The more she rubbed the wetter and louder the blonde became. Their mouths met once more and their tongues battled for dominance. With a skilled hand, the brunette reached around and unhooked the blonde's bra. After a while the blonde broke the kiss and looked into dark brown eyes. She allowed the lacey garment to fall from her body and the brunette swallowed, trying to control her arousal, as creamy breasts were revealed to her. The blonde leaned forward so their lips were barley touching._

_"Fuck me," she demanded, breathing heavily. _

_The brunette's nostrils immediately flared at the request. In an abundance of strength and determination, t__he brunette gripped the blonde's waist and maneuvered them on the bed so she was on top. Before the blonde could say anything, her panties were moved aside and two long fingers were buried inside of her. __She let out a guttural moan as the brunette filled her, causing her back to arch. The blonde was so warm and wet, the brunette had never been so turned on in her life. Not wasting time, she began to pump in and out, using her entire body to push into the woman below her._

_The blonde wrapped her legs around her waist and pulled the brunette's head down into a rough kiss as the taller woman continued to fuck her. "Oh, God… so good, baby."_

_The brunette's mouth latched onto the woman's neck and her free hand cupped one of the blonde's luscious breasts. "You're so fucking sexy," the brunette whispered against heated skin._

_The blonde moaned louder as a third finger entered her. "Fuck…"_

_The brunette rocked harder and pushed deeper as the blonde moved with her rhythm. She could feel the muscles tightening around her fingers. The blonde was close. The brunette leaned her forehead against the blonde's and their panting breath mingled. In a swift move, the brunette maneuvered her thumb over the blonde's clit and that's when the woman below her came undone. Her body writhed with pleasure and moaned loudly as pleasure overtook her body. It was the most beautiful sight the brunette had ever seen._

She suddenly snatched herself from the memories of that night and turned off the shower. She remembered all of it and knew she had to forget it… had to forget her. Exhaling a shaky breath, she grabbed her towel and began to dry herself.

Moments later, she padded into her bedroom, wrapped in a towel. That was when she saw a familiar manila envelope on her bed. The calling card of another mission. Without thought, she opened the envelope. Inside there was a single airline ticket to Paris, France, information about which alias to use and hotel accommodations. She would receive further instruction when she was in Paris. The flight was scheduled to leave in two and a half hours. She quickly got dressed, packed a weeks worth of clothing, and sorted through her hundreds of passports and fake IDs, finding the one she was to use. It all came with the art of being invisible.

* * *

Within 24 hours…

She was in France under the alias Suzanne McKenna. She rented a car and drove to the hotel she was assigned to stay in. To the rest of the world, she was a common American tourist. Upon entering her hotel room, she tossed her black duffel bag on the bed and unpacked her laptop. Running on autopilot, began to setup at the provided office desk, booted up her laptop and sat down. She then reached under the desk and obtained a flash drive that was taped there, just where she was told it would be.

She inserted the drive in her laptop and opened the only file provided. The first item to pop up on the screen was the photo of her next target. Her eyes widened in shock and she leaned in, taking a closer look.

"What the fuck?" She whispered to brunette's heart instantly stopped upon seeing the photo. Time stopped. She frowned in confusion as she examined the photo.

The honey blonde hair, the hazel eyes, the perfect porcelain skin, those kissable lips. It was her. The photo was a headshot of the mystery woman that had been on her mind for the past couple weeks. The brunette temporarily covered her mouth and shook her head. No. _She_ was her next target? This had to be a mistake. But she knew her boss never made mistakes. The brunette felt sick to her stomach and her heart beat began to pound in her ears. _She _was her next target? The brunette kept staring at the picture of the woman's smiling face. She kept willing the photo to be of someone else, that she may be hallucinating, but she was not imagining this. It was definitely her; the blonde she had spent the most amazing night of her life with.

She scrolled down past the picture. The location was a hospital with a provided address. The blonde would be exiting the East side of the building sometime between 12am and 1am. A hospital? Was the blonde a doctor of some kind? A surgeon? A pediatrician? Why did he want _her _dead? What had the blonde done to deserve this?

The brunette closed her eyes, shutting off the questions in her head. She was breaking her code. Kill and collect, no questions asked. What was happening to her? It had never mattered who the target was, what they've done or why they were to be terminated. It never mattered. She scrolled up and looked into those smiling hazel eyes again. But she had questions. When it came to _her, _she had questions.

The brunette closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, trying to focus. NO QUESTIONS. She drilled the two words into her head like a mantra. NO QUESTIONS. This was just a job. This was just another target. She was damn good at her job and would do it. Nothing and no one would stop her. She would eliminate her target and collect her money; same as any other mission. NO QUESTIONS.

She entered the target's location into her GPS, printed the photo, and shut down her computer. It was 8:35am Paris time and she was exhausted. She had time to grab a few hours of sleep before her mission that night.

* * *

The brunette hustled across the rooftop that was diagonal from the hospital building. She had scoped out a location a couple hours before and decided this was the perfect vantage point to spot her target. She expertly set up her rifle and set the mount on the edge of the building's ledge and waited.

She could do this. She would do this.

A half an hour had passed and she had watched several different hospital employees enter and exit the hospital's side door. There had been no sign of her target yet. Off in the distance, she could see the glowing lights of the Eiffel tower. The golden lights of the building were beautiful and a sight her 'old self' would have treasured. But she could care less about the iconic structure right now.

The door to the building opened once more and a woman with honey blonde hair stepped out. The brunette quickly positioned the rifle and peered through the scope. Her breath caught as the blonde's face came in focus behind the crosshairs. The brunette's breath caught. It was really her. Her hair might have been done up in a ponytail and make up slightly faded, but she was just as beautiful as the night they had met. Her mystery woman. Her target.

The brunette inhaled and exhaled a deep breath. Focus. Eliminate the target. She placed her finger on the trigger and steadily aimed the crosshairs over the blonde's head as the woman began to walk down some cement steps to the sidewalk. She had her. She was in her sights. Perfect opportunity. All she had to do was squeeze. But something unexpected was happening. To her utter surprise, her trigger finger began to tremble and her breathing became labored. She was losing focus. Squeeze damn it.

"Hé, Maura!"

The shout caused the blonde to turn back towards the hospital and the voice slightly rattled the brunette. She pointed the scope away from the blonde to the source of the outburst. Another woman dressed in a long white doctor's coat was smiling holding up what appeared to be a set of keys dangling on a key chain.

The blonde seemed relieved and jogged up a few steps to take the keys from the woman's hand. They exchanged a few words. The brunette could not hear what they were saying but the blonde gave the other woman a polite pat on the shoulder before they parted ways. The brunette brushed off the interruption and had her in the center of the crosshairs once more. The blonde headed down the steps and made it to the sidewalk.

"Just do it," she urged herself. "Fucking do it."

She tried to steady her trembling hand as she followed the movement of her target. The blonde was a few feet away from a vehicle and hit the auto-unlock button, causing the car to beep. The brunette was about to lose her chance. She kept her in her sights. The blonde was now next to the driver's side door. Sweat gathered on the brunette's forehead and her finger was ready to engage the trigger. The blonde opened the door. Squeeze! Do it! Do it!

SLAM. The blonde had safely climbed into her vehicle and closed the door. Before the brunette realized what had happened, the woman had started her car and pulled into traffic. The target got away. Mission failed.

The brunette closed her eyes and lowered her head, exhaling the breath she had been holding. "Shit…"

Who knows where the blonde was now and it was too late to try and follow her. She had choked and to make matters worse she now knew a little more about her target than she should. A name.

"Maura," she softly whispered to herself.

The brunette returned to the hotel. As soon as she entered her room, she began pacing back a forth. She was frustrated and angry at herself. What she had done was unacceptable and had never happened before. She had always completed her mission… no matter the consequences or the cost. What had happened? The brunette raked her hand through her unruly dark hair, shoulders tense. She knew what happened. Maura happened.

Suddenly, the cell phone in her back pocket began to ring. The brunette froze. She knew who that was. With bated breath, she answered her phone and held it up to her ear.

_"Is the target eliminated?"_ His creepy voice asked.

The brunette swallowed her pride before speaking. "Negative. There was a… complication."

_"A complication…"_ An indignant deep raspy voice repeated. There was a pause. _"Do we have a problem?"_

"No problem. The target was compromised. Request to have target's address to finish job. It can be handled tonight."

_"Request denied. This will be done my way. Terminate the target tomorrow. Same location and time. Understood?"_

"Affirmative."

_"And Jane? I don't give second chances. Don't fail me again."_

The line went dead.

The brunette stood frozen in the center of the hotel room. He used her name… her _real _name. That was new and somewhat disturbing. Then again, the man who had taken her under his wing... the man she only knew as Hoyt, had always been disturbing to her. But she was lost and he seemed to be the only solution to pain those years ago. She brushed off the uneasy feelings and decided to get cleaned up.

Sleep was not an option. With one bedside lamp on, illuminating the room in dim light, the brunette sat in the center of the bed on top of the comforter. Her hands moved in controlled fluid motions as she disassembled and reassembled her handgun. All she could do was ponder on her fuck up, knowing she had to fix it. She wanted to focus on anything other than her next mission but that was impossible. She had to kill her. A beautiful, tender, wonderful woman named Maura. She closed her eyes thinking back to that night.

_The brunette's body arched and a pleasurable moan escaped her lips as an intense orgasm racked her body. Her heart was racing and sweat coated her lean body. She needed that. Her fingers soon loosened their grip upon the honey blonde curls of the head between her legs. Wow. The brunette opened her eyes and looked down at the blonde. Hazel eyes were staring back at her along with a cheeky smile. _

"_So sexy," the blonde whispered as she climbed back up the taller woman's body._

_The blonde hovered above the brunette, causing her long honey blonde hair to curtain around them. She leaned down and kissed the brunette deeply. The brunette felt a thrill run through her body as she tasted herself in the other woman's mouth. She may not know much about this woman but she knew for certain that she had a talented tongue. The blonde pulled back and looked down at the brunette once more. She lightly bit her bottom lip._

"_Would you… like to stay?" She softly asked._

_The brunette's eyebrows slightly arched at the sudden question._

"_I mean, you don't have to stay," the blonde quickly spoke up. "I'm simply suggesting if you'd like to stay and rest I… well, I wouldn't mind."_

_The blonde lowered her hazel eyes shyly and a soft blush formed on her cheeks. The brunette found this endearing. The blonde wanted her to stay._

"_Uh… yeah. I could rest for a short while."_

_The blonde smiled softly, relief spreading across her features. "Okay."_

_They looked into each other's eyes for a passing moment before the blonde hesitantly leaned in. They both felt shy now. Their lips met in a soft kiss and they gazed at one another. Both of them wanted to say more but were too afraid. The blonde smiled at her once more before shifting off the brunette's body and settling herself under the blankets. _

_The brunette felt her heart pounding in her chest and knew this reaction was not from the sex, but from just being near this woman. She made her feel amazing; like she could do anything. She stared at the wild locks of blonde hair that were mussed from their sexual escapade, then her eyes traveled down the blonde's body which was covered under a bed sheet. The brunette had the overwhelming need to hold her. No… that would be too much. She could not allow herself to become attached. But without her awareness, she already was._

_Being next to each other, knowing the other one was close, was enough for them. The brunette felt safe. She had not been sleeping well for a long time and right now she felt the temptation of slumber drawing her in. Her eyes closed and she drifted off, knowing the most caring, gentle and beautiful woman was lying next to her._

CLICK. The brunette snapped the final piece onto her gun. Pointing the unloaded gun upwards, she leaned the top of the barrel against her forehead and closed her eyes. She knew what she had to do.

"I am so fucked," she whispered.

* * *

The following evening, the brunette arrived at the same place and time as instructed. However, instead of taking her position on the roof across from the hospital, she sat in her rental car a few spaces down from Maura's vehicle. Despite her Hoyt's order to eliminate the target at this location she decided to tail the blonde home. Not to kill her, but to save her. She knew their would ultimately be consequences to her actions, but fuck it. What did she have to live for anyway? All she knew was Maura had to live.

She waited patiently for the blonde to exit the hospital. The brunette studied her as she made her way to her car. Holding a cream designer purse, she was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans with heeled black boots. Her hair was down and she look a little exhausted. This made the brunette wondered what kind of day the other woman must have endeared.

Soon the blonde climbed into her vehicle and pulled into the street. The brunette followed and was careful not the spoke the other woman, making sure to stay at least two cars behind. The drive took a good thirty minutes before the blonde's car finally pulled into the driveway of a simple one story home. The brunette had already killed her headlights earlier to remain out of sight. She pulled up next to the sidewalk across the street, a few house down from Maura's.

The neighborhood was quiet, clean, and had nice green grass and hedges, obviously a suburban area. The blonde disappeared inside of the home and soon some lights were turned on. The brunette rolled down the power window and brought some binoculars up to her eyes. She temporarily saw the woman's silhouette walk near a window and disappear further into the house. Now what? The brunette did not have a plan.

"_And Jane? I don't give second chances. Don't fail me." _Hoyt's words echoed through her head. His threatening words. She lowered the binoculars and she closed her eyes. For the first time in the three years she had worked for him she was defying him. She had to. The brunette took a shaky breath and shook her head. She couldn't kill her and she knew her failure to do so would have consequences. Possibly lead to her own demise, but she did not care. Maura needed to live. Why? That was not exactly clear to her, but she knew the blonde would not die by her hand and she would do everything in her power to-

The cocking of a gun snapped her out of her revere. She opened her eyes in alarm and her body froze.

"Posez vos mains lentement sur le volant," a female voice demanded.

She knew that voice but had no idea what was being said. She could take a guess though. She slowly set aside the binoculars and raised her half gloved hands. Her face was hidden by the shadows due to her choice location of concealing her vehicle. A lot of good that did her.

"Posez vos mains sur le volant."

"I don't speak French," the brunette countered.

"Put your hands on the stirring wheel," the woman demanded, quickly switching to English.

The brunette did as she was told, her eyes remaining forward.

"Who are you?" The woman spoke with an authoritative tone. "And why were you tailing me?"

The brunette slowly turned her head, facing the person currently pointing a gun at her head. The light from the streetlamp caught her features just then and the other woman gasped.

"You…" the blonde shakily breathed. The recognition was evident in her voice.

The brunette was finally able to look into the hazel eyes that had been haunting her for weeks. "Hello, Maura."

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I left it there. You know how I do it guys! Are you liking it so far? I really hope so.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I am so excited that so many of you are hooked to this story so far! I have read so many wonderful reviews! Thank you! So let's continue shall we… HAPPY READING!**

**Side note: Please forgive my lack of France geography/ location spots. I'm not familiar. But I try to do as much research as I can. Okay, enjoy.**

* * *

"_Who are you?" The woman spoke with an authoritative tone. "And why were you tailing me?" _

_The brunette slowly turned her head, facing the person currently pointing a gun at her head. The light from the streetlamp caught her features just then and the other woman gasped. _

_The brunette was finally able to look into the hazel eyes that had been haunting her for weeks. _

"_You…" the blonde shakily breathed. The recognition was evident in her voice._

"_Hello, Maura."_

* * *

**Kill & Collect**

**Chapter 3**

The brunette stared deeply into the other woman's eyes and noticed a variety of emotions playing over her face. There was surprise, then confusion, and then suspicion. Maura's brows furrowed and she held the gun up with more purpose. "How do you know my name?"

The brunette opened her mouth to reply but was silenced by another hurried line of questioning from the blonde.

"And why are you here? Did you follow me all the way from New York? Are you some kind of stalker?" She demanded.

"No. I'm not stalking you and I did not follow you from New York. Look, we don't have time for this so..."

"Time? There seemed to be plenty of time when you followed me home and sat out here for fifteen minutes watching my house," Maura shot back.

The brunette shook her head. She had not planned on being caught off guard like this. She looked at Maura once more and could not believe she was actually laying eyes on her again; speaking to her again. This woman had haunted her thoughts and dreams for two weeks straight and now she was standing right in front of her. She had only dreamt of them meeting once again, but a gun being pointed at her was not involved in any of her imagined scenarios. She kept her half-gloved hands up and spoke once more. "There is a reason I'm here, okay? But we should talk about this inside. I don't think your neighbors will think twice to call the cops if they see you pointing a gun at someone in the middle of the night."

Maura raised her eyebrows slightly, almost in a smug matter. "Good. Maybe I want the authorities to arrive."

The brunette pinned her with a somber stare. "This is serious. What you're dealing with... the cops can't handle," the brunette stated.

"No? I think they can handle a peeping Tom."

"I wasn't…" the brunette took a second to hold back her frustration. "I'm here to help you."

"Help me?"

"Yes and I'd rather discuss this _inside_."

Maura let out a small chuckle of disbelief, still aiming her weapon at the brunette. She shook her head slightly. "I am not letting you in my home. I don't even know you."

The brunette studied the blonde for a moment, holding her gaze. Maura's hazel eyes shifted back and forth as she stared back into the brunette's dark brown eyes.

"You do know me," the brunette genuinely spoke. Her voice was soft spoken.

Maura's brows knit together slightly and then slowly began to relax. As though she had not expected her defensive walls to be breached so suddenly. She felt a familiarity, a connection. The brunette's brown eyes held that gentleness that she encountered when they had been together that night.

The brunette saw the contemplation on Maura's face and continued. "Please. I'm not going to hurt you. I swear it. Let's just talk inside. I'll explain everything."

The blonde shifted feet slightly and looked around the area. No one seemed to be aware of what was transpiring between them on the darkened street. She looked at the brunette once more and slowly lowered the gun. However, she now held the weapon at her waist, still keeping the gun aimed at the brunette. If someone were to see them, the gun was not so visible.

"Fine," Maura finally said. "Get out of the car, slowly."

Keeping her hands in sight, the brunette cautiously exited the vehicle. Maura kept a keen eye on her as she closed the car door and stood in front of her.

"Walk ahead of me," the blonde instructed.

The brunette did as instructed and headed for the house. In silence, they walked up the driveway and soon made it to the front porch.

"Open the door and step inside. Keep your hands where I can see them. I won't hesitate to shoot you," the blonde threatened.

The brunette opened the door and stepped into the foyer of the home. It was dark aside from the moonlight streaming into the window blinds. As soon as she heard the front door close behind them that was when she made her move. The brunette quickly whipped around, extracting the weapon from the blonde's hands, easily disarming her. The blonde gasped. The movement was so fast Maura did not realize what had happened until the brunette was behind her. The taller woman's body was flush against her back, holding her in a secure embrace. With one hand the brunette easily emptied the chamber of the gun and the bullets scattered to the wooden floor in a clatter. The gun soon followed.

Maura struggled to free herself and managed to land a solid elbow into the brunette's gut. The taller woman grunted, but quickly recovered, holding her grip. The blonde then attempted to land her opposite elbow to the brunette's chin, but taller woman expertly blocked it and held fast to the other woman's arms, turning them behind her back. It was now impossible for the blonde to move. Maura was panting heavily and her heart raced, not knowing what this woman was going to do to her.

The brunette held her close and leaned in so her lips were only inches from the blonde's ear. "That was a lucky shot… and I don't like having a gun pointed at me," she snarled.

The blonde struggled once more. "Let go of me," Maura growled, wrenching herself from the brunette's grasp. She whirled around and the brunette could see pure anger and frustration burning in those hazel eyes.

The brunette only stood there, silently looking at the other woman. A slight ache began in her abdomen where the blonde had elbowed her. "Jesus," the brunette sighed, slightly touching her stomach.

"Who are you?" Maura demanded.

The brunette straightened her stance and looked into Maura's eyes. "Someone that can keep you safe."

"Safe?" The blonde frowned. "I don't understand. What are you doing here? _Did_ you follow me here from New York?"

"No. I was sent here."

"You were sent here," the blonde deadpanned. By _who_?" She impatiently asked, flaring out her arms.

The brunette took a breath and locked her gaze with confused hazel eyes. Enough bullshit. Time to tell the truth. "By the person who hired me to kill you."

Maura's eyes widened in alarm and she took a step back. "What?" The blonde breathed.

There it was. The fear the brunette did not want to invoke in the other woman. The last thing she wanted was for the blonde to fear her but she knew this moment was inevitable. The brunette raised her hands as a peaceful gesture, trying to keep the blonde calm. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay."

"You just told me you were sent here to kill me!" Maura shrieked, stepping further back.

"Yes, I was. That's true but I'm not going to. I want to protect you, but there's not much time. Pretty soon the person who sent me is going to send a backup; someone else to finish the job that I couldn't."

"And I'm the job," Maura stated, putting the pieces together.

"Yes."

"But why…"

The sound of a car door slamming outside alerted the brunette.

"Shhh…." the brunette silenced Maura, hearing the noise. She moved over to one of the front windows and carefully moved aside the curtain. In the distance, emerging from the shadows, a suspicious looking man in dark clothing was approaching the house. The brunette could tell just by the tranquil way he moved that he was trained. He was like her. "Great," the brunette muttered. She watched the man stealthily disappear behind some hedges and back into the shadows. The brunette deduced that he was heading for the back door of Maura's home.

"Who's out there?" Maura asked in a hushed whisper, a few feet behind the brunette.

The taller woman moved away from the window and headed further into the house. She glanced at the blonde. "My backup," she bitterly muttered. "They know I haven't done my job." As she walked further and entered the living room, she noticed the blonde following her. She stopped and turned to the anxious woman behind her. "Stay here, okay. Out of sight."

Maura nodded and hung back. She watched from the arch of the hallway as the brunette took position by the backdoor, pressing her back against the wall. Moments later, a figure's silhouette could be seen through the window shades, slowly approaching the door. Just as the brunette had suspected, the man was attempting to break in through the back.

The three clicks of the lock meticulously opening were extremely quiet, but the brunette heard it. She silently stood off to the side, watching the handle turn and then the door slowly creep open. She waited patiently for the man to enter the home and when the timing was right... She clocked the man with a hard left hook to the face, blindsiding him. He grunted and attempted to turn and confront his attacker but the brunette was far too quick. She was behind him in an instant and swiftly grabbed him around the neck, putting him in a choke hold. The man struggled for a while but was no match to the brunette's skill. Eventually, he became weaker and his arms lowered, causing him to drop his weapon to the floor. His entire body became limp in a matter of seconds and soon his head dangled off to side. He was out cold... still alive.

She could kill him. She could snap his neck in an instance. But she didn't. She didn't want to kill him. She knew he was only doing a job, just as she does. She may not have known the man personally, but like it or not, he was a kindred lost soul that was also taken under Hoyt's wing. She was doing the man a favor. But she knew there would be more men and women just like this coming after her and Maura. Next time she would not be as generous.

She carefully lowered his body to the ground and began to search him. She found two extra ammo clips and then she stuffed his gun in the back of her waistband. She needed all the ammo she could get. She felt someone approach her and she looked up, seeing Maura standing there. The blonde stared at the man on the ground.

"You killed him?" She asked in disbelief.

"No. He's asleep," Jane replied, standing up from her crouched position. "We need to go, now."

The brunette headed for the door and Maura followed. When they were in the foyer, the blonde suddenly switched direction. "Wait."

"Maura, we don't have ti…" But the blonde was already hurrying down the hall and into another room. The brunette sighed and quickly followed. It was the master bedroom. She spotted the blonde on her hands and knees, reaching for something under an impressive looking king-sized bed. "What are you doing?"

The blonde soon yanked a medium-sized black duffel bag from under the bed and stood to her feet. "Now, we can go," she said, flinging the strap onto her shoulder.

Was that a getaway bag? The brunette frowned, wondering why the blonde would have such a thing prepared but there was no time to dwell on it now. "Come on. We're taking your car."

"My car?"

"Yes. I'm sure they tracked my rental car to your house. That's probably how our surprise guest found us."

The blonde grabbed her car keys from the dish by the front door and handed them over. They were soon outside and hurriedly climbed into Maura's car. The brunette started the engine.

"Where are we going?" Maura asked, putting on her seatbelt.

"I didn't plan that far ahead." The brunette shifted the gear and peeled out of the driveway.

As soon as they exit the neighborhood, the brunette's cell phone began to ring. Her heart skipped a beat, knowing who it was. Maura looked over at her questioningly and their eyes briefly connected. The brunette reached into her jacket and answered, holding the phone to her ear. She said nothing.

"_What are you doing, Jane?" _Hoyt calmly asked. The brunette could hear his voice quaking with an undertone of anger.

"What I have to."

"_What you have to do is kill her. She's your target. The target I assigned for you to eliminate."_

"Not this time."

Hoyt let out a sardonic chuckle. _"This sounds like you're making a choice, Jane. This was not what we agreed upon when I took you in. You have no choices, remember? Kill or be killed."_

The brunette inhaled breath and defiantly raised her chin. "I'll face the consequences. I'm not gonna let her die."

Maura was listening to this one-sided conversation and could barely believe her ears. This woman was discussing her life. Her life was in someone else's hands. The thought terrified her.

"_No?" _Hoyt continued._ Is it because she's pretty? Is it because you admire her intelligence?... Or is it because you fucked her in a hotel room?" _He bitterly growled.

The brunette was stunned into silence. How did he know? She looked at the woman next to her and those hazel eyes were studying her closely. The brunette turned her eyes back on the road as a sick, quesy feeling came over her. Was Hoyt…? No... he couldn't possibly be jealous? Right? Was this some sort of vendetta against Maura? Through her whirlwind of questions she finally regained her ability to speak. "Why her? What has she done?"

"_Questions, questions,"_ Hoyt mumbled to himself. _"No questions. You're dishonoring the code."_

"I wanna know, damn it," the brunette demanded.

"_I want her dead!"_ Hoyt suddenly shouted. He voice was laced with such venom and malice it caused the brunette to slightly flinch. _This was a test of your loyalty to me, Jane. I have my reasons and my reasons alone are just enough. Kill and collect. That's what I trained you to do. So, kill her now…"_ He took a moment to calm his tone and continued. _"…kill her… and I'll forgive this little lapse of misjudgment."_

She looked at Maura once more and their eyes locked. Looking into this woman's eyes she saw a good soul. A woman that held mystery but was honest. A woman that had an edge but was soft. Maura. The brunette knew then and there that she had made the right choice. She turned back to the road.

"There's no misjudgment. Goodbye, Hoyt."

"_Jane!" _The man's voice hollered, before the brunette hung up. She lowered the window and tossed the phone outside.

"Your phone too," she said, holding out her hand to Maura.

"What?"

"Trust me. He can track us anywhere if we keep our phones."

With a huff, Maura dug into her jeans and handed over her phone. The brunette tossed it as well before rolling the window back up.

They were silent for a few moments as they drove through the darkness.

"Was that him? The man that hired you to kill me." Maura finally said.

"Yes." The brunette noticed Maura visibly shiver beside her. She wanted to comfort the blonde. She wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but she had no way of knowing that for sure. Hoyt had his ways of finding people and he always got what he wanted. This was a spontaneous risk she was taking. She was defying the man that she thought had saved her and showed her a new way of… well not living… _being_ she supposed. She was standing up against Hoyt… all for the woman sitting beside her.

"So…" the blonde began, breaking the brunette's train of thought. "Your name is Jane."

The brunette felt a shiver run through her body, hearing Maura speak her name for the first time. She gave the blonde a questioning look.

"It was hard to miss the screaming on the other end of the phone before you hung up."

"Oh."

There was another pregnant pause between them. The blonde discreetly looked towards the woman beside her. Her eyes shifted to the steering wheel, noticing the brunette's hands were gripping it tightly. Jane was still wearing those leather finger-less gloves. She then discreetly shifted her gaze to the brunette's profile. She was just as Maura had remembered her. Those hard, yet soft attractive features... a woman that had mystery and darkness looming over her. Now everything was slowly coming to light.

"You're an assassin?" Maura carefully asked, breaking the silence.

The brunette nodded. "I am."

"So you've killed other people for him… with no rhyme or reason," the blonde stated.

Jane paused. For once she was actually feeling regret for having to admit this truth. "I have."

"Why?"

The brunette swallowed, not looking at the blonde. "I'm good at it," she honestly confessed.

Maura swallowed and nodded as she digested this awful truth. She was in a car with a killer. That did not sit well with her. She folded her arms and looked out the passenger side window. She let out an exasperated sigh. "You're no better than my father," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

And Jane could tell just from the cold demeanor that was coming from the blonde, any further conversation was over at this point.

They drove for what seemed like hours until they reached a motel on the outskirts of the city. It was nearly 3AM. The blonde seemed to be dozing off every few minutes but fought to keep her eyes open. Jane had noticed.

"We can rest here for a few hours," the brunette said.

Hearing Jane's voice, Maura opened her eyes and looked around. They had pulled into a small motel with only one level of rooms that ran along the perimeter of the parking lot. It was no Ritz but it was fairly decent. At least it looked clean enough. Frankly, it was a dump but Maura held her tongue. The brunette's voice broke her thoughts.

"I haven't seen a tail and they have no way of tracking us. We've got a good head start. We'll leave later in the morning. Besides, I'm sure you need the sleep after working at the hospital all day."

The brunette glanced at Maura and the blonde only stared back, her expression unreadable.

"I'll check us in." Jane stopped herself before exiting the car and looked into the blonde's eyes. "Stay here." She climbed out of the car and headed into the building to the checkout counter.

It took less than eight minutes for the brunette to sign-in with two fake names and pay for a room. When she walked back out and headed for the car her instinct radar immediately went off. Something was wrong. From a distance, it looked like her passenger was no longer in the vehicle. "Shit." Jane rushed over to the car and looked into the passenger side window. Maura was gone and so was her bag.

She immediately began to look around the area. Her mind was in a panic but she knew she had to remain calm. Only a few minutes had passed. Maura could not have gotten that far. She jogged out to the middle of the nearly empty parking lot of the motel and turned in circles. Where the fuck did she go? She looked towards the road just outside the entrance to the motel lot. That was when she spotted her. Not too far from the side of the road, Maura had just managed to hail a car over, attempting to hitchhike.

"Fuck," Jane muttered. She took off running full speed to catch up with the blonde.

Just as Maura was about to open the passenger door of the stranger's vehicle, the brunette grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. The blonde flinched with a gasp of surprise, dropping her duffel bag. "Hey!" She shrieked.

"Thanks but no thanks! She's staying!" Jane called out to the person in the vehicle.

"Let go of me!" Maura shouted, trying to wriggle from the brunette's strong embrace.

The man gave a shrug of nonchalance and drove off, leaving them on the side of the road. When the car was gone, Jane loosened her grip and the blonde yanked herself away. She pinned the brunette with a death glare. There was that look again. Full of fire and anger. Damn. She managed to piss off Maura twice in one night. But she could care less. This woman was acting way too reckless for her liking.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jane shouted. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"I'm trying to get away from you!" Maura yelled back. "If I stay with you I may get killed! _You're_ a killer!"

"I already told you I'm trying to protect you."

"You say that now, but what if you suddenly change your mind and decide to do your boss's bidding."

Jane ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm her nerves. "That won't happen."

"Well, I'm sorry but that's not very reassuring to me and I'm not waiting around to test that theory." Maura raised her arm and stuck out her thumb, looking for a potential ride once more. "I can take care of myself. I don't need to be protected."

Jane took a step closer. "You have no idea what this man is capable of, Maura. What the people working for him are capable of. They _will_ find you."

"I'm not helpless. I can make it just fine on my own."

"What makes you think that?"

Maura finally looked at Jane, locking eyes with her. "Because I learned a thing or two from someone just like you. He was also coldhearted and unfeeling."

Jane stood there and took the stinging comment for what it was… the truth. She had become that way. She allowed herself to shut off all emotion. But after meeting the woman standing in front of her now, something had changed inside. She could not explain it but she knew she never wanted to let Maura go. She had to keep trying. "Do you want to live?"

Maura still stood with her thumb out, remaining silent. She ignored the brunette's question.

"Do you _want _to live?" Jane asked more assertively.

"Of course I want to live!" Maura shot back.

"Then you have to trust me! I know how this man thinks and how he operates. I know his tricks. You're not dealing with a mediocre player in this game. He's a professional and he's careful. When he wants you dead, you're dead."

Maura's confidence seemed to slightly deflate at Jane's words and she lowered her eyes.

"I won't let that happen to you. But I can't do that if you won't let me protect you."

The blonde slowly lowered her arm and turned away from the road. She then raised her eyes and looked into determined brown ones. "Why?" She finally asked with a shrug. "Why do you want to protect me?"

Jane lowered her eyes, hesitant to answer. "I… have a feeling that it may be my fault that he wants you dead." This was not the primary reason Jane wanted to protect Maura but after that disturbing exchange with Hoyt it had definitely become plausible.

The blonde's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? I thought he assigned random people for you to assassinate."

"Yes, but it's different with you. He's knows that we've met before… and that we…" Jane left the sentence open.

Maura lifted an eyebrow at her. "Had sex," she bluntly finished.

"Yes," Jane replied with an uncomfortable shrug. "And now he wants you dead."

"That makes no sense."

Jane shook her head, barely believing this herself. "I guess he developed some weird… infatuation with me. I never really picked up on it before."

"Wait a minute," Maura held up her hand and briefly closed her eyes. She was trying to wrap her head around the situation. "Are you saying that your boss is jealous of me because I slept with you?"

The brunette only looked at her, silently conveying her affirmative reply to the blonde's question.

"B… but that's absurd. That's crazy!"

"He _is _crazy. That's why I want to help you. I wasn't going to kill you to satisfy his sick mind fuck games."

The blonde realized she was now caught between two roads. She looked down the street and then back towards the brunette.

Jane could see that Maura was re-evaluating her actions. "So..." Jane began. "What's it gonna be?" The brunette gave a small shrug and gestured towards the road that had one passing car every two to three minutes. "I guess I can't force you to stay with me. But… it would really… well… it would suck if I never saw you again." Jane lowered her eyes, feeling extremely vulnerable about what she had just admitted.

Maura studied her closely and observed Jane's body language. The brunette was avoiding eye contact, she was shifting her weight from one foot to the other and she was rubbing the top of her hands where Maura knew Jane was concealing those angry scars. The brunette was anxious… possibly even worried. The honey-blonde suddenly turned and picked up her duffel bag from the side of the road. She set back her shoulders and held her chin up with dignity.

"What's our room number?" She asked before walking by brunette towards the motel.

Jane closed her eyes and sighed in relief. Maura was going to stay.

* * *

**A/N: What are you thinking?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I got sick a couple days ago, thus this chapter is a couple days late, but I hope it'll be worth the wait. I'm loving the responses to this story! So, please continue to tell me your thoughts! Take care and happy reading!**

* * *

**KILL & COLLECT**

**Chapter 4**

The two women stepped into the small motel room and Jane turned on the lights. The dank interior was revealed to them in a dim light. Maura looked around and scrunched her face at not only the furnishings but the smell of dust in the air. There was a single full-sized bed and to the left of that was a wooden nightstand with a phone and lamp on top. To the immediate right of the bed was a door that led into a small bathroom, at the foot of the bed was a dresser with a small television on top. Straight across the room, opposite the door of the motel was a small closet. The space was every vacationer's dream! Not.

Jane closed the door behind them as the blonde stepped further into the room. Maura noticed the sleeping arrangement and raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "There's only one bed."

The brunette looked between the bed and Maura. "You're taking the bed. I'm staying up to keep watch."

The blonde tossed her bag on the bed and began to unzip it. Jane stood near the window looking past the curtain and into the parking lot. Nothing looked suspicious. She then walked over to the small restroom and clicked on the light. There was a sink, toilet and shower. No window. Satisfied, the brunette shut off the light and turned back to the room. She noticed Maura had unpacked a toothbrush and was pulling out a tube of toothpaste. The brunette eyed the bag questioningly and then looked at the blonde. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Maura replied, not looking up.

Jane stood there and folded her arms at the blonde's nonchalant reply. She waited for the blonde to meet her gaze. When Maura finally looked her way she rolled her eyes at Jane's stare and sighed. "Okay, what?" the blonde relented.

The brunette gestured towards Maura's small luggage. "That's obviously a getaway bag. Why did you happen to have one so conveniently packed?"

Maura lowered her gaze and slowly turned and sat on the bed next to her bag. "I'll answer your question… but I feel I deserve some answers first." She looked at the brunette.

Jane gave nod. "Okay," her raspy voice carried over the small room. She took a seat in the chair next to the air conditioning unit, leaning her elbows on her thighs and interlacing her gloved fingers. "What do you wanna know?"

Maura crossed her jean clad legs and placed her hands in her lap. Jane noticed the woman kept her back straight at all times. The blonde had very admirable posture. Jane had noticed it from the night they met. The blonde looked straight into her eyes with an unwavering gaze.

"I want to know what else you know about me." The brunette only looked at her silently so the blonde continued. "You obviously knew my name… that I worked in a hospital and where I live. What else?"

Jane gave a shrug. "Not a thing."

Maura knit her eyebrows together. "I find that hard to believe. You don't research your targets before you…" Maura trailed off her sentence.

Jane shook her head. "No, it doesn't work like that. All I'm given is a location, a time, and a picture. That's it."

"You know nothing more about me," Maura stated, rather than questioned.

"Well…" Jane drawled out, looking down at her hands. "I do know a _few _things that I normally don't about my targets," she spoke with some insinuation. When the brunette finally looked at Maura, she noticed a blush lightly covering the other woman's cheeks.

Maura cleared her throat, avoiding Jane's gaze. "I… um, I wasn't referring to that," Maura shyly said, tucking some of her honey-blonde locks behind her ear.

The brunette smirked, thinking Maura's embarrassment was cute. Maura suddenly looked up and slightly narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "Oh, I see." She said, folding her arms with a haughty attitude. "You're being a smartass."

Jane's smirk grew even more and she ducked her eyes. She did not see it, but the blonde was fighting a smile of her own.

"Okay, then…" Maura went on. "If that was all the information you were given about me, how did you know my name?"

"One of your co-workers shouted out to you that night you forgot your keys."

Maura's face dawned remembrance and her eyes widened slightly. "You were there?"

Jane nodded.

"Were you casing the place or something?"

"No. I was assigned to… take care of you that night."

Maura swallowed. "Oh…"

Jane began to rub her hands through her leather gloves, trying to ease the tension of her old scars. She knew the true reason why she did not kill Maura. She felt a strong connection with the blonde and just couldn't go through with it.

A few moments of silence sat between them and neither one of them were able to make eye contact.

"How do you do it?" Maura soft voice broke the quiet.

The brunette slowly met Maura's hazel eyes.

"How can you just kill people… and not feel anything?" The blonde went on to ask.

As Jane looked into Maura's eyes, she was astonished to see that there was no judgment, no disgust or disdain; just a need to understand. This placed some comfort in the brunette. She released a heavy sigh before speaking and lowered her eyes to the floor. "I was in a dark place for a long time… when Hoyt approached me I cared for nothing and no one. I kind of just, shut everything off… all my emotions. How?" The brunette shrugged. "I don't know... but Hoyt knew how to tap into that dark energy I had and use for his advantage. He made me believe I could be useful to the world again."

Maura frowned, not completely comprehending what the brunette was saying. "By killing people?"

"Yes…" Jane honestly replied. "… as sick and twisted as it is… yes."

Maura figured there was more to this that Jane was not disclosing, but she decided not to push the subject any further. She read it in the brunette's body language. There was another long string of silence between them. Jane raked her hand through her dark hair and finally looked at the blonde. "Will you answer my question now? About the bag?"

Maura placed her hand on her duffel bag, lowering her eyes on the ground. "It was just in case."

Jane waited for Maura to further explain, but when nothing else spilled from the blonde's mouth, Jane knew Maura was holding back. "Okay… but the common person does not have a getaway bag, Maura. Not unless they're in some kind of trouble."

Keeping her eyes glued to her lap, the blonde let out a heavy sigh. Jane raised an eyebrow, studying the other woman. "Are you... in trouble?"

Hazel eyes finally connected with curious dark brown ones. "Every day," the blonde quietly replied.

Jane watched as the blonde took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"It all revolves around my father… Patrick Doyle."

The brunette perked up at the name. "Doyle…" Jane repeated. Then it suddenly clicked. "You mean Paddy Doyle the Irish mobster?"

Maura nodded solemnly.

"He's your father?"

"You've heard of him."

"Anyone who grew up on the east coast knows Paddy Doyle. He's got one hell of a reputation."

Maura let out an unimpressed chuckle. "That he does. People fear him."

Jane watched as the blonde fidgeted with her hands before continuing. "He's the one who taught me all the trades of surviving on the streets. Self-defense, how to fire a weapon…" the blonde locked eyes with the brunette. "… how to make someone who is tailing me…" The blonde lifted an eyebrow at Jane and the brunette gave a nod that said touché. "Anyway, at the age of only fifteen, I picked it all up fairly well… and a part of me even enjoyed it... I was well on my way to becoming my father's successor." Maura closed her eyes, remembering how passionate she was as a young woman, wanting to please her father. "There was always that thrill of potential danger… although I had never encountered it... not until I was seventeen."

"What happened?" Jane asked, fully engulfed in the blonde's story.

Maura was looking off in the small room, transported to another time as she told her tale. "One evening, an intruder entered our home. He was from a rival gang and was sent to kill my father and I. My father was able to apprehend him however. I was awoken by a noise and went downstairs." The blonde shook her head. "I can still see him on his knees in the kitchen… my father pointing gun at his head. I suppose he thought I was still asleep, but I saw the entire thing. He interrogated him and beat him, trying to get information… by the end of it, the man was begging for his life… but my father… Paddy… he didn't care. After he got what he needed, I watched him shoot the man point blank in the head. No hesitation," the blonde said with a shrug. "He acted as though it was nothing… and that terrified the hell out of me. While my father was training me, I was so naïve. I believed that a mobster life seemed like fun and games… but Paddy was not just training me, he was preparing me. And after I saw him murder a man, it became real. Too real. I knew then and there that was not the life I wanted to lead. Killing and torturing people and being involved in illegal activities was not something I wanted to be a part of. When I told him this, I saw the disappointment but he understood. He said his enemies may look for me someday, just to get to him. So he assisted me in fleeing to Paris. I've been here ever since."

There was a beat between them until Jane finally responded. "Wow, that's… that was really brave of you to leave that life."

The blonde bit her bottom lip, not sure how to further respond. She was touched by Jane's simple yet sympathetic words. "Yes…" she whispered. Though she loathed admitting it right now, but she still felt a connection to the woman sitting across from her... even if she was a killer.

"So…" the brunette said, clearing her throat. "No one has ever shown up?"

"No." The blonde finally made eye contact with the brunette. "Not until now. I even changed my name from Doyle to Isles."

"Isles?"

"Yes. I saw the name in the papers and thought it sounded nice," the blonde shrugged.

Jane said the first and last name together in her head and thought it sounded nice as well.

"So, when you showed up, I thought you were one of my father's enemies," Maura said.

The brunette frowned slightly. "What about your mother in all this?"

"She died giving birth to me."

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"Its fine," the blonde said, shaking her head. "Anyway… with my family background, you can see why I was not exactly thrilled when a killer wanted to protect me."

"Yeah, I can see that now…" Jane nodded. "But I'm glad you're letting me."

They silently looked into each other's eyes. Each of them still had burning questions inside of them, wanting to know more about the other. They both remembered their admittance of wanting to confess their deepest darkest secrets to one another the night they met. Jane may have been holding back but she still felt the same way. However, given the current circumstances and the divulgence of Maura's horrific tale, Jane felt full disclosure of her dark past as a killer would not be appropriate to share at this time. The less the blonde saw her as a monster the better.

Maura was the first to break eye contact. She ran a hand through her hair and stood from the bed. "I'm going to brush my teeth."

"Okay," Jane replied, watching the other woman walk by her.

As Maura stepped in the doorway of the bathroom she turned back around. "I have an extra toothbrush if you'd like to use it. I left it on the bed."

Jane gave a small smile. "Thanks."

Maura nodded and stepped into the restroom.

Jane instantly felt more at ease with this arrangement. Maura was at least being civil to her. That was a good start. The brunette stood and removed her leather jacket, lying it over the back of the chair. She was now only in her black tank top and dark jeans.

"Jane!" Maura screamed.

The sudden outburst instantly put the brunette on alert. She removed her gun from her waistband, and was in the bathroom within seconds. Maura was standing in the small room just pointing at the sink. No one else was in the bathroom. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the blonde, gun drawn, Jane furrowed her brows. "What? What's wrong?"

"An arachnid."

"What?" Jane lowered her weapon, stepped forward and looked in the sink. She spotted the eight legged creature and let out a chuckle. "Maura, it's just a spider."

"Don't laugh," the blonde pouted. "I hate spiders."

"I thought you were in danger. _Real_ danger." Jane commented, stuffing her gun back in her waistband.

The blonde rolled her eyes and sighed. "Can you get rid of it?"

Jane smiled at the situation and shook her head. "Yeah." Without hesitation she scooped up the insect between her cupped hands. "Open the door for me."

Maura rushed to the motel door and quickly opened it. Jane knelt down by the open doorway and gently set the spider outside. The insect crawled out into the darkness, well on its way. Jane stood to her full height and closed the door. "There. Crisis averted," she said with some amusement in her eyes. A warm hand was suddenly on her bicep, squeezing lightly.

"Thank you," Maura said.

Jane's breathing stopped at the touch and she looked down at the blonde's hand. Maura felt the heat and strength of the other woman's muscle under her hand and she was embarrassed by how turned on it made her feel. She looked down at her own hand and soon realized what she had done. She shyly withdrew her hand and their eyes locked for a moment. Neither one of them had any words to say, but felt that attraction… that draw to one another. Maura lowered her gaze and took a step back. "Thank you," she said again.

"Sure," Jane got out. Her eyes followed the other woman's movements until she disappeared back into the bathroom. Jane was able to breathe again. Their sexual chemistry was definitely still there. Judging from the blush that appeared on the blonde's face, Maura had felt it too.

Within the next twenty minutes, Maura had finished in the restroom and was now lying on her side, fully clothed but shoes off, facing the wall. Jane was sitting in the darkness, staying on alert. Every once and awhile her eyes would venture to the form lying on the bed. Jane knew she would do everything in her power to protect Maura... even from spiders. She smiled to herself at the memory. The blonde had made her genuinely chuckle and that felt good. Just being around Maura made her feel good.

* * *

Hazel eyes slowly opened. Maura had to take a moment to get her bearings. She was not waking up from a nightmare in the comfort of her own bed. She was in a motel on the outskirts of Paris. Everything had actually happened last night. She was on the run with a killer. The smell of fresh croissants filled her senses and she turned over in the bed. A brown bag that read, Belle's Bakery, was sitting on the bed. She looked by the door and saw Jane standing by the window, looking out. She must have slept a few hours because sunlight was escaping past the window curtain and into the room.

"Hi," the blonde's voice cracked, still laced with sleep.

Jane turned from the window, looking at the other woman sitting up in the bed. "Hey." She took a few steps towards the bed. "I grabbed you a little something to eat."

"Oh. Thank you." The blonde frowned and looked at the other woman. "Wait, you left me?"

"The bakery is right next door," the brunette said, shoving a thumb at the indicated direction. "I was gone less than seven minutes tops. I made sure you were secure before I left."

The blonde felt her stomach rumble, not realizing how hungry she truly was. She reached into the bag and pulled out a large croissant. "What time is it?" She asked, before taking a bite into the fresh bread.

"A quarter to eight. I figured we should head out soon."

The blonde looked down at her attire and wrinkled her face. "I'd like to shower first."

"Uh, yeah. Of course."

A small smirk formed on the blonde's lips as she eyed the taller woman. "You could probably use one too."

The brunette frowned and bent her head, smelling her armpit. She did not smell like roses at the moment. "Guess you're right."

"I have a spare tank top you can wear. You seem to be fond of those."

Jane nodded. "Thanks."

Maura soon finished off her food and crawled out of the bed. She grabbed a towel and a bar of soap from her bag and set out the spare tank top. It was red. The blonde then stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Jane looked at the tank top on the bed and lightly smiled. The color did stray away from her traditional black, but at least it wasn't pink. She grabbed the brown paper bag and began to eat a croissant of her own.

The brunette was watching television from the chair by the window when the bathroom door opened fifteen minutes later. Maura emerged in the doorway and Jane's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the sight. The blonde was standing there wrapped in a navy blue towel, hair dampened, and small droplets of water were sticking to the skin of her shoulders and calves. Jane tried not to stare as the woman walked by her but that was impossible. Jane remembered all too well what was under that towel and if she caught a glimpse of that perfect nude form again, she knew she wouldn't be able to control herself. Her heart began to beat faster and her palms became sweater.

Holding the towel securely around her body, Maura now stood at the foot of the bed and raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "It's not polite to stare."

"Sorry," Jane whispered, but her stare never wavered. She was hypnotized as her eyes raked up and down Maura's form unconsciously.

The blonde felt heat throughout her body under the other woman's gaze, but she held fast to her pride. She would not succumb to this seductive stare. "Turn around, Jane," she said. "You lost your privileges to see me naked when I became your target."

The statement broke Jane's spell and she raised her eyebrows at the other woman. "Ouch," she whispered, before turning the entire chair towards the window. Instead of luring at the naked woman behind her, she kept busy by scanning the parking lot.

After a few minutes of hearing zippers and rustling behind her, the blonde finally announced she was decent. Jane turned and saw Maura dressed in a dark purple button up blouse and black skinny jeans. Her hair was still damp and in a bit of disarray, but Jane thought she looked amazing.

"Aren't you going to shower now?" The blonde asked, grabbing a brush out of her bag.

"Yes, but I was waiting for you to get dressed."

Maura frowned. "Why?"

Jane grabbed the chair by the window and moved it beside the head of the bed. "I need you to sit here and keep an eye out for anything or anyone that looks suspicious outside. Just scream if you see anything."

"From here?" the blonde questioned with puzzlement, watching as the brunette opened the window curtain.

"I don't want you near the window," the brunette replied.

Maura noticed she could see the entire parking lot from where Jane had placed the chair. She sighed. "Okay, sure."

Just as Maura took her seat, Jane grasped her wrist and quickly zip tied it to the bedpost. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Just a precaution," Jane calmly stated.

Maura wrestled her arm against the restrain to no avail. She was beyond annoyed when she realized she was stuck. "Untie me," she demanded. "You know I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't know that," Jane replied. She squat down in front of the blonde and looked into her eyes. "But I do know you're Paddy Doyle's daughter and I don't know what you're capable of."

Maura let out a huff and rolled her eyes. "I hate you," she muttered.

The brunette smirked before standing to her feet and heading into the bathroom. "I won't be long."

"This is so not necessary, Jane!" The brunette heard Maura call before she stepped into the bathroom. Jane blew out a breath and quickly stripped out of her clothing. That woman was a handful.

Several minutes had passed and the blonde was still sulking over being tied up. She yanked on the restraint once more and rolled her eyes. She supposed this made sense that Jane did not fully trust her. She had only tried to runaway just five hours before.

The sudden screeching of tires in the parking lot was what caught Maura's attention. Curious, she looked out the window and spotted a black car. It had just pulled up next to her vehicle. Four men dressed in black piled out of the black car and began to look around. Two of the men began to inspect Maura's vehicle. They did not look friendly at all.

"Oh, shit… oh, shit…" Maura whispered to herself. "Jane!" She yelled. "Jane!"

Her hair still damp, in only her jeans and a sports bra, Jane rushed out of the bathroom. She looked at Maura who pointed towards the window worriedly. "Outside… those men…"

The brunette looked out the window and saw the four men. She recognized them immediately as Hoyt's guys. The brunette saw one of the men kick down the door of the motel room that was parked closest to Maura's vehicle and they went charging inside. As a precaution, Jane had parked in the space furthest away from their room, hoping it would buy them some time. It seemed to do the trick.

"Time to go," the brunette said, taking out her Swiss army champ. She swiftly cut Maura loose from the bed post. The blonde quickly began to pack up her things while Jane threw on the red tank top, black leather jacket and boots. She peaked out the window again. The men were breaking into the next rooms, splitting off into pairs. Jane and Maura were in the last one down the line of rooms. Unfortunately, the only way out of the motel room was how they got in.

"We have to move now," Jane announced.

"Okay," Maura breathed, throwing her bag over her shoulder. She came over to Jane's side and the brunette turned to her, looking into her eyes.

"The bakery parking lot is out the door and to the right of the motel. We'll have to hop a fence and see if we can get a car. Got it?"

Maura nodded. "Got it."

"We only got one shot at this."

A look of pure determination was on the blonde's face. Her hazel eyes became so steely Jane almost didn't recognize her. "Let's do it."

"Okay." Jane cautiously opened the door and poked her head out. The men were four rooms down from them, guns drawn, breaking into another room. "Come on," Jane whispered, pushing Maura ahead of her.

They stepped out unnoticed and they quickly began to tip toe towards the side of the motel. They were nearly out of sight when…

"Over there!" A man shouted.

"Go! Go! Go!" Jane hollered. They both began running and within seconds of spray of bullets were fired at them, missing them within inches as they made it to the side of the motel for cover.

Maura quickly hoisted bag over the wood fence before scaling it herself. Jane made sure the blonde cleared the fence first before climbing over herself. Just as she got over the top and jumped down, more bullets riddled to the top the wooden fence just seconds from where she was before.

The brunette scanned the small lot and spotted a vehicle. "The station wagon!" Jane commanded. She was behind the blonde, placing a secure hand on her lower back as they took off running. It was not the ideal getaway vehicle but it was the only car around.

The door was locked. Jane quickly broke the glass with the hilt of her gun and unlocked the vehicle. Both women hopped inside. Their heavy breathing, coursed with adrenaline filled the vehicle as Jane a yanked out the necessary wires to hot-wire. Maura looked out the back of the rear window and saw one of the men climbing the fence.

"Jane, they're coming!" the blonde frantically exclaimed.

"Come on, you son of a bitch," Jane growled, sparking the wires together. Suddenly the engine came to life and she instantly shifted gears and hit the gas.

Five bullets were fired at them as Jane skid out of the parking lot. One in the trunk, two at the rear window which shattered the glass, and another that went through the back passenger side window at an angle. The brunette floored the gas, getting them out of the line of fire. Maura was breathing heavily, her hands gripping whatever she could hold on to. The brunette was frantically weaving between cars, trying desperately to create distance between them and Hoyt's men. She was constantly looking at the rear-view mirrors, checking if the black car was following them. There was no sign of them yet, but she knew they would be pursuing. She quickly turned off onto a dirt road, avoiding the main street. After a few minutes of no threat, Jane released a breath. "I think we lost them." She glanced at the blonde. "You okay?"

Maura swallowed as her heart rate began to return to normal. "Yeah…" she nodded. When she finally looked at Jane her eyes widen with alarm at the sight of blood.

"Oh, my God, Jane! You've been shot."

"Yes, I know," Jane strained between her teeth at the fire stinging pain in her shoulder.

Maura leaned forward to examine the wound closer, but could not see much through the leather jacket. "You'll have to pull over so I can take a look."

Jane shook her head. "No, it's not safe to stop now. Just…" The brunette grit her teeth and leaned to the left, attempting to shrug her right shoulder out of her jacket. She grunted in pain and Maura helped her remove it the rest of the way.

Crimson liquid coated the skin of her shoulder and two lines of blood had trickled down her arm past her elbow.

Maura lightly touched with her fingertips around the wound, avoiding contact with any blood as she examined it. "The bullet is still lodged in your shoulder. I have a first aid kit in my bag, but I'm afraid I don't have the proper tools to remove the bullet."

Jane reached into her pocket with her other hand. With a grunt she pulled out a knife. A gleam shined off the blade, reflecting from the sun as it was revealed. "This should work."

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**A/N: And scene. What do you think?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: ****Wow, a big break, huh? What can I say? I'm trying. But I can promise you I never leave a story unfinished and TRY not to go longer than 2 weeks without an update. I hope you all are still sticking with me. Here's the next chapter. Happy reading!**

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**Kill & Collect**

**Chapter 5**

Jane drove for another half an hour until she was sure they were out of harm's way. She ended up turning off the dirt road and into a heavily wooded area where the station wagon would be obscured by the trees. She cut the engine and glanced at Maura. "We should be safe here."

The brunette climbed out of the car and looked around. The smell of damp leaves and bark hit her senses and the orange-yellow leaves were a serene sight. It was beautiful. Too bad she was not experiencing this in a different situation. Hiding for their lives was not the ideal scenario.

Maura climbed out of the car as well, holding her duffel bag. She walked over to the front of the car and placed the bag on the hood. After locating her first aid kit she looked over at Jane who was still standing by the driver's side door.

"Come sit over here," the blonde instructed. "I need to look at that arm." She pulled some white latex gloves out of the kit.

Jane shrugged off her leather jacket and tossed it in the car before silently walking over to Maura . Her arm was throbbing but she tried her best to mask the pain she felt. She was the protector after all. However, the blonde noticed Jane wincing as the brunette made herself comfortable on the hood of the station wagon, resting her feet on the metal bumper of the vehicle. Maura couldn't explain it, but in some way seeing Jane hurt made her hurt as well It was an odd feeling. None of this would not have happened if the brunette was not trying to protect her. Was she feeling guilty now? Maura shook her head. Why should she feel guilty? Jane wanted to protect her. The blonde dismissed her thoughts and snapped on her gloves. She stepped closer to her patient and began further inspection of Jane's arm.

"Yes... I can see the bullet," Maura concluded as she closely looked at the wound. "Thankfully, it's not lodged too far in your deltoid muscle."

"Deltoid muscle…" Jane nodded. "Good to know."

Maura pulled a few disinfectant wipes out of her bag and began to delicately clean around Jane's wound. The brunette watched as Maura wiped the dry blood that was caked to her skin and then glanced at the blonde's face. "So uh… what do you do in the hospital anyway?"

Maura gave a small smirk. "I'm a trauma surgeon."

Jane raised her eyebrows and let out a soft chuckle. "Lucky me."

The blonde smiled in response but her expression slowly melted back into concentration as she worked. The brunette silently observed Maura, noticing the seriousness on her face. Jane wondered if this was how Maura looked while working on an operating table in the hospital. She looked so professional... so adorable. Adorable? Hazel eyes temporarily looked up connecting with brown. "What?" Maura asked.

"Nothing," Jane said replied, averting her eyes. She internally chastised herself for being caught staring.

Maura wondered what that look was about but decided to ignore it for now. She had work to do. She tossed the bloody wipes aside and picked up the knife that was resting next to her bag. "Now, I should be able to remove the bullet with this. However, I'll have to sterilize it first in order to avoid infection."

"Oh, right. I don't think I have..."

Before Jane could finish her sentence, Maura pulled a lighter from her bag. "This will have to do."

The brunette shook her head with a small smile. "Jesus, what else do you have in that thing?"

Maura lit the lighter and began to run the flame along the sharp edge of the knife. "I found it necessary to pack essential tools needed in case of emergency situations, Jane."

The brunette nodded. "Makes sense, I guess."

"You guess?" The blonde said, not taking her eyes away from the small flame. "It seems to be coming into good use now isn't it?"

Jane gave a small smirk. She liked Maura's spunky comments.

When the knife was safely sterilized, Maura stepped in front of the brunette and looked into her eyes. "I'm afraid I don't have any anesthetic. This is going to be painful."

"That's alright." Jane slowly shrugged. "I've felt way worse pain than this, believe me."

The blonde lightly bit her lower lip and gave the brunette the once over. "Okay, now take off your shirt."

Jane raised an eyebrow at her. "Huh?"

"Unless you want to get even more blood on my tank top."

The brunette's mouth gaped open in surprise at the comment. "Really? I'm kinda shot here."

A small smile formed on Maura's lips. "I'm joking, Jane," the blonde said. "Besides, I know you were only saving my life... again." Their eyes connected for a silent moment before the blonde continued. "But you should take it off. There will be more blood as I remove the bullet. Eventually, we may be seen by the general public. I'm sure the sight of blood all over your top would be pretty alarming."

The brunette sighed. "Alright, doc. You win." Jane grunted as she began to lift the top.

Maura assisted her and set the piece of clothing next to her first aid kit. Jane was only in her dark jeans and black sports bra now. Maura tried not to stare at the rippled muscles of Jane's abdomen but they were extremely distracting. The blonde shook her head and tried to focus on the task at hand. Maura stepped closer with the knife and leaned over the brunette's right shoulder. She placed a firm grip on the brunette's bicep with her left hand in order to keep the arm steady. "Okay, I'm going to start."

"Go for it," the brunette braced herself.

The brunette's jaw muscles contracted as the sharp point of the knife began to penetrate her wound. More blood slowly trickled down her arm. Jane sucked in a breath as the pain rushed through her. "Err… fuck… you weren't kidding…" Jane strained between her teeth.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to do this as fast as I can."

Jane closed her eyes tightly and tried to focus on something else. Maura winced in sympathy as she caught the pain written all over the brunette's face. She hated that she did not pack an anesthetic of some kind. Then another thought came to her. "Did you know it's been proven that sometimes a story can help distract the brain from pain?"

"No…" Jane groaned. "I wasn't aware, Dr. Isles."

"I think we should try it. Tell me a story."

Jane frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Tell me a story about your past. I've already shared a significant part of my past with you. I feel it's only fair that you tell me about yours. Hopefully, it will take your mind off the pain."

Jane only stared at her and Maura stopped her task to look into skeptical brown eyes. "Try," the blonde sincerely insisted.

The brunette sighed heavily and lowered her eyes. "Alright…" she muttered. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you get your scars?" Jane suddenly looked up again, catching Maura's gaze. She had not expected that question. Maura saw the apprehension in her eyes and became unsure of her own idea. "You don't have to tell me if…"

"No, I'll… I can tell you. You've told me about your past."

Maura gave a nod and then continued to carefully work on the brunette's shoulder. Jane slightly flinched at the pain but began her story.

"Okay uh… when I was eighteen I joined the army right out of high school. It's kinda funny because that wasn't my first choice for a career."

"No? What was?" Maura asked.

"A cop."

Maura raised an eyebrow at this and lightly smirked. "Really."

"Yeah…" Jane's lips formed a small smirk. "Well, a detective."

"That's exciting. What changed your mind?"

"I don't know really. I guess I wanted something bigger. The army just seemed to have more to offer, I'd get to travel, see new places and the pay was good. I also wanted to make a difference in the world. Anyway, over the years I eventually moved up in the ranks. I turned out to be a damn good shot with any gun they gave me. I became one of the best marksmen in my rank… they told me I was good enough for the green berets. I figured what the hell so I went for it. Before I know it I'm a green beret sniper."

"The Special Forces… you must have been honored."

Jane nodded. "I was… there was a shit load of training and tests but I passed. My first mission with my new team was in Somalia. That was six years ago now. There was heavy warfare and a lot of gun fights. We were sent in to help keep the peace… I had never seen so much blood in my life…"

Maura tore her eyes away from the wound to look at Jane. The brunette had a faraway look in her eyes.

"On the fourth night our camp was overrun. I fought as hard as I could against those bastards, but there were too many. I was knocked out from behind and was taken as a prisoner. I had no idea where I was when I woke up. Some fucking hole underground. I just remember it was dark and cold. Then every few hours these men would come in and interrogate me. They wanted me to tell them our plans and wanted information, but I wouldn't tell them anything. They beat me up pretty good. I must have been down there two days and wouldn't tell them shit… I wouldn't let them break me. But then on that third day… that's when it happened."

"Your hands?" Maura asked in a soft whisper.

Jane nodded. Without thinking, she began to trace over the very prominent scars on her palms. She had accidentally forgotten her gloves at the motel because they left in such a hurry. Maura noticed this but did not say anything.

"They… held me down on the hard ground and hammered these… spikes into my hands. It felt like…" Jane shivered in remembrance. It was hard for her to explain that agonizing pain. The brunette cringed at the memory. She could still feel the metal sliding into her flesh, awaking all the nerve endings and pain receptors in her hands. These thoughts were so disturbing; she could no longer feel Maura working on her shoulder anymore. "I couldn't move. I just remember feeling so… helpless. I found out later they had used horseshoe nails."

"Oh, Jane…" Maura softly spoke. The blonde could not fathom how people could be so inhumane. She felt an overwhelming urge to comfort the brunette but she knew the type of person Jane was. She accepted pity from no one. Maura pushed back those feelings and channeled her emotions into removing the bullet from Jane's arm.

The brunette shook her head. "I was nailed to the ground for what felt like hours until a rescue team found me."

The bullet finally gave way and Maura let out a breath of relief as the bloody slug fell into her gloved palm. "Got it," Maura suddenly said, holding up the bloodied bullet with a small smile of triumph.

This broke Jane out of her trance and she smiled lightly. "Hey, look at that," she said with some amazement. "Nice work, doc. I barely felt a thing."

Maura gave a shy shrug. "I told you the story would work. However, removing the bullet would have been more efficient using the proper tools and…"

"You did great," Jane cut in.

Maura lightly blushed and cleared her throat. She stepped aside and rummaged through her first aid kit. "So, um… what happened after the rescue team arrived?" The blonde asked, pulling out antiseptic and more disinfectant wipes.

"They wrapped me up and sent me home."

Maura looked into Jane's eyes and knew there was more to this story. To endure torture to that caliber would change a person's life forever. The blonde stepped forward and began to clean Jane's wound again. "What happened after you came home?" Maura tried to push. She could tell the brunette was attempting to put up a barrier but that was not going to fly with her.

Jane looked down at the grass and swallowed. This was beginning to feel like a fucking therapy session, but unlike all those times when she felt trapped and overwhelmed by people who tried to speak to her in the past, Maura made her feel safe.

"When I came home… I was a goddamn mess," the brunette confessed. "I wouldn't talk to anyone and that included my family. I wouldn't let anyone near me. I just wanted to be alone. So I would lock myself in my apartment day and night... twenty-four hours a day."

Maura paused and looked at the supposedly broken woman in front of her. But Jane did not look that way to her. She saw a woman with a dark past yes, but Jane did not look broken. The woman sitting in front of her looked strong, sharp and confident. Nothing like the woman Jane was describing herself as.

Maura finished cleaning Jane's arm and was now wrapping the wound in a bandage. "Do you experience nightmares?"

Jane nodded hesitantly, keeping her eyes down. "Yeah, I do… can't say I've gotten used to them."

"How often do you have them?" Maura gently asked.

The brunette took a moment before she answered. "Every night," her raspy voice whispered.

A silence passed between them as Maura continued wrapping Jane's shoulder. Again Maura had to stop herself from prying. She wondered what the brunette experienced in those nightmares. She wondered if Jane woke up in the middle of the night frightened and alone. She wondered why she wanted to be there to protect her. The blonde shook her head and finished the bandaging on Jane's shoulder. "All done."

The brunette looked down at Maura's handy work with high approval. "Thank you," Jane softly said.

"You're welcome." Maura packed up her kit and handed Jane the tank top back. The brunette pulled the top back on and Maura could not help but feel a little disappointment in no longer being able to feast her eyes on Jane's abdomen. Shaking out of her thoughts she pushed aside her bag and gingerly took a seat beside the brunette. More silence. The only sound that could be heard was the rustle of leaves blowing in the trees.

Jane glanced at the blonde and saw her fidgeting with her hands. She obviously had something else on her mind but seemed hesitant to speak. "Go ahead," Jane finally said.

Maura looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"I can hear the wheels in that brain of yours turning. You have more questions."

The blonde let out a soft chuckle. "You don't mind?"

"No," Jane replied. In fact, the brunette found this talk comforting. She had never told anyone her story before and in a way it felt freeing.

"Okay. Um… I'd like to know… how Hoyt came into the frame."

Jane smirked. "Picture, Maura?"

The blonde frowned.

"You meant to say, how did Hoyt come into the picture."

Maura folded her arms and lifted her chin defiantly. "You find it amusing to correct me, don't you?"

"Maybe a little," she lightly smiled.

Maura rolled her eyes trying to hold back a smile of her own. She sobered up immediately when Jane began to speak.

"Anyway, I uh… I told you before that I was in a really dark place when Hoyt approached me. I was… well… I wanted to end it all." Jane looked down, avoiding eye contact with the blonde.

"You mean… end your life?" Maura asked.

Jane nodded. "I wasn't the same after Somalia… and nothing in my life was getting better."

_**Three years ago**_

_The wind blew her hair wildly in the night air as Jane stood on the ledge ten stories up from the ground. Wearing an old Red Sox sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, and tennis shoes, the brunette stood on the roof of her apartment building, looking down at the street. She was tired of the nightmares, tired of no longer feeling comfortable communicating with her once loved ones, tired of freaking out when she was touched… it had to stop. In her mind this seemed to be the only solution. The brunette closed her eyes and prepared for her descent. All she had to do was let go. _

"_You don't want to do that, Jane."_

_The brunette was slightly startled by the intrusive voice. She turned to see a man standing a few yards away. He had long white hair, wrinkled skin, a thin frame, and he was dressed all in black. Not exactly the stereotypical look of a guardian angel._

"_Who the hell are you?" She shakily asked, somewhat angered by the interruption. _

"_The name is Hoyt."_

_The brunette frowned in confusion, still not understanding where this man came from. "Well, Hoyt, I would like to be alone right now."_

"_Why? So you can jump to your death?" He clicked his tongue. "Now, that would be a waste."_

_Jane swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head. "No… it wouldn't be. I'm useless, I'm… a mess. I'm no good to anyone."_

"_Oh, I seriously doubt that. You have so much to offer. You have skills that are extremely useful."_

"_How would you know?" Jane challenged._

"_Because I've been watching you, Jane."_

_The brunette frowned. "Watching me? Okay, you can stop right there old man. I've heard enough." She turned back to the ledge._

"_You want to disappear." Hoyt suddenly spoke, taking a step closer. "You no longer want to exist in the world. Your family and friends seem like strangers to you and no place feels like home. Not anymore."_

_Jane slowly turned back to the strange man. That was exactly how she felt._

_Hoyt lightly smirked, knowing he had struck a nerve. "You're hurting the people __around you, mentally and physically. You don't want to and you don't mean to, but you can't help it. In the deep recesses of your mind you know it's not right. You're not right… and you want that to stop, don't you?"_

_A lone tear escaped Jane's eye and trailed down her cheek. "Yes…" she helplessly whispered. Finally, someone got it. This man got it. "That's why I'm here… to stop it. No one understands what I've been through. They can't understand."_

"_I know." He was closer now. "I can help you. I'm offering you another way out besides…" He looked over the ledge and then back at Jane. "… death."_

_Jane looked down as well. The street and cars below seemed to be moving upward; getting closer and closer. Was this really where she wanted it to end?_

"_I can make Jane Rizzoli no longer exist." Hoyt went on. "I can make her disappear. I can give you a new life."_

_Jane frowned and turned towards the older man. There had to be a catch. "Why? Why the hell do you want to help me?"_

"_Because Jane… you are an unbelievable weapon. You're one of a kind. And as I said, it would be a waste to see you jump off this building. I believe we can help each other." Hoyt saw the brunette hesitating and he shrugged. "But who am I to stop you? Do what you must." The older man began to walk away. _

_Jane closed her eyes. What the fuck else did she have to lose? Or live for? "Wait."_

_A sinister smile spread across Hoyt's face and he turned around. Jane stepped down off the ledge and took a step forward. She wrapped her arms around her herself, looking like a lost puppy. Dark circles were under her eyes due to her lack of sleep. Her hair was a tousled mess, practically shielding her face. "What do I have to do?" She asked shakily._

"_What you do best my dear... kill."_

Maura shivered slightly at the story. She was actually more disturbed by how lost and damaged Jane was than her becoming an assassin. They both sat there, silently marinating over what Jane had just shared. The brunette felt vulnerable about opening up like this. She had never told anyone about her attempted suicide… her highest point of weakness.

Maura was still wrapping her mind around the tale. She knew Jane had a dark past but had no idea it had reached that extreme. After a few moments, the blonde finally looked up and stared at Jane's profile. "He took advantage of you. He took advantage when you needed help the most."

The brunette gave a small nod. "I realize that now. I may have needed help, but I didn't want it. I didn't want help that involved some shrink sitting there pretending to listen to me and trying to analyze me. At the time, Hoyt's offer seemed like the best therapy. I had no bank accounts, credit cards, or documents past three years ago that had my name. He even burnt off my fingertips so I couldn't leave fingerprints behind." Jane held up her hand and the blonde took Jane's hand in her own to take a closer look. She indeed noticed that the normal patterns that formed a fingerprint were not present on Jane's hands. How could she have not noticed this before?

"That must have been painful," Maura said. She unconsciously ran her thumb over Jane's fingers.

The brunette felt the touch throughout her body and gently pulled back her hand. It was too much. "It was," she said. "I felt it was worth it though. He made me disappear. Jane Rizzoli did not exist. I was living as a ghost that no longer had consequences for my actions and ties to the world. All I had was me."

The blonde studied the woman that sat beside her. "That sounds very lonely," Maura softly said.

Jane licked her chapped lips and shrugged slightly. "That's what I wanted…" The brunette ran her thumb over the scar in her palm. "But now…"

Maura waited for the brunette to finish but when the sentence was never finished it caused her to look at the woman beside her. "Now, what?"

"I… don't think I want that anymore."

Maura's eyebrows drew inward, trying to understand the meaning of the brunette's words. Was she saying she no longer wanted to be lonely? Before Maura could question this, Jane loudly cleared her throat, breaking the intensity of the moment.

"I wanted to check out the back of the station wagon. We may be able to use some supplies."

"Uh, yes. That's a good idea," Maura replied with a nod.

Jane hopped off the hood of the car and made her way to the back of the vehicle. Maura sat there a moment contemplating over what had just happened. Jane had just shared something very personal with her and it made her feel… closer? She was not sure but Maura knew she felt fortunate that Jane felt safe enough with her to tell her those events.

Jane ended up finding a cooler stocked with snacks and water. There were also a few suitcases full of clothes and a few sleeping bags. They had obviously ruined some family's European vacation. Either way, they had food for the time being and they were grateful. After resting for another hour, they set off on the dirt road again.

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A/N: Please tell me what you thought. Forgive me if some of the things in this chapter seem unrealistic. It's a story, go with it! Those of you who know the show well will notice I used some little things from the show. Anyway, let me hear it!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: First off, I would like to give a special thanks to 'M' for helping me with the French language! I tried my best but I always appreciate tips! Also, thank you to all of you who are still sticking with me on this story. My chapters have not been posted that quickly but I always hope they are worth the wait. So thank you. Happy reading!**

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**Kill & Collect**

**Chapter 6**

Maura groggily opened her hazel eyes as she raised her head from the mildly cushioned passenger side door. She winced at the slight ache in her neck from leaning in an awkward position for so long. As she fully regained consciousness, she noticed Jane was still driving. From what Maura could remember, they had been driving on the dirt road for several hours and before Maura knew it, she had drifted off.

She stretched her muscles and glanced at the brunette. "Oh…" she half yawned. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost two hours," Jane replied, not taking her eyes off the road.

The blonde tilted her head to the side, stretching her neck. "I didn't realize I was so exhausted." Maura noticed that the sun was nearly touching the horizon and it would be dark within the next hour or so. An orange-yellow haze colored the sky. She turned to Jane once more and studied the brunette's profile. Jane looked physically drained and seemed to be fighting her own bout with sleep. "You look tired. I can drive us."

Jane shook her head. "I don't think so, Maura. _I_ don't even know where we're going."

"Okay, if you won't let me drive you should at least pullover for a while. When was the last time you slept?"

Jane shrugged. The last time she had decent sleep was when she was lying in bed with Maura weeks ago and that was only for a couple hours. "I'm fine."

Maura rolled her eyes, annoyed that Jane was being stubborn. She looked out the window at their surroundings and realized they were no longer traveling on the back road. They now seemed to be on a two-lane expressway. "We're on the main roads?"

"Yeah, I had to get back on. We're low on gas. I didn't want us to get stranded in the middle of nowhere."

"Isn't this a risk?"

"There's no choice. I saw a sign for a gas station. It's about thirty miles up the road. I planned on hiding you and the car and little ways back and then walk the rest of the way. That way we won't risk the car being spotted. There's a gas can in the back I can use."

The blonde nodded but was not completely thrilled about the plan. Being out in the open was risky and from what Jane had told her about Hoyt's skills, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to potentially track them. She once again looked at the woman beside her. Dark circles were under Jane's eyes and she looked rundown. This filled Maura with concern. "Jane, we should really pullover. You need rest."

"I'm fine."

"You're not," Maura argued. "You're exhibiting all of the signs of fatigue and operating a vehicle is the last thing you should be doing right now. In fact, the Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is a cause in 100,000 auto crashes and 1,550 crash-related deaths a year in the U.S."

"Is that so?" Jane tiredly replied.

"Yes. It is."

"Well, thanks for the statistics doctor, but I can make it just fine. Besides, even if I did sleep it wouldn't be for long anyway."

"Some sleep is better than none at all."

"Maura, I've gone days without sleep. This is no different."

"It _is_ different. You're not alone. I'm with you now."

Jane's jaw muscles clenched. This was true. It was not just her anymore. Her old tactics of survival had to work for not only her but both of them. She tried to shake off the blonde's reasoning but Maura continued to speak.

"You want to protect me, right? Well, you're doing a poor job of it right now. What good are you if you're fatigued? You'll have slow reaction times, reduced ability to process information, memory lapses, absent-mindedness, decreased awareness, and…" Maura had to stop herself and catch a breath before she went off into a lecture. "My point is, you should stop being a stubborn hard-ass and pullover," Maura demanded.

Jane glanced at the blonde and they locked eyes. She recognized that look of fire and determination and knew Maura meant business. It was the same look Maura had given her when they were arguing on the side of the road near the motel. She also knew more than anything that Maura was right. Jane was exhausted and she knew if given the chance to rest her eyes for a moment, she would more than likely drift off. The sun would be going down soon and there was no way she would be able to navigate properly or find them a safe place in the darkness of night. She sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll pullover.

"Thank you," the blonde said with relief.

"But no motels. We'll have to rest in the car for the night."

"Fine."

Jane took the next available exit ramp and pulled off the highway. The area in which they were driving was extremely barren but eventually she found a thick of trees where they could hide the car behind so it would remain unseen from the road. The brunette killed the engine and blew out a heavy breath. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the seat. Rest… this actually felt good.

Maura looked at her with a small 'I told you so' smirk. "I'm glad we stopped, Jane. You don't have to prove your strength to me all the time."

The brunette let out a tired chuckle, not opening her eyes. "Good to know. I guess I am only human, huh?"

Maura lightly smiled. "Yes, you are." The blonde looked down and eyed the brunette's shoulder. "Let me look at your arm," she requested.

Jane opened her eyes and sat up, allowing Maura to pull down her jacket from her shoulder. The blonde slid the clothing halfway down her torso and examined the wrapping. "The bandage seems to be holding up for now," she commented, lightly touching Jane's arm. "How does it feel?"

Truthfully, it had been aching for the past few hours but Jane did not want the blonde to worry. "It feels okay."

Maura narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied the brunette. "You're a terrible liar."

Jane let out a chuckle as she leaned back in her seat. She turned her head to the blonde. "You think I'm lying?"

"You are. I was unable to use any type of anesthetic taking out that bullet. So I know for a fact that there is some sort of residual pain in your shoulder."

"So if you knew, why did you ask?"

Maura tilted her head slightly. "To pretend I cared. Was it convincing?"

Jane raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Pretty damn convincing."

They looked into each other's eyes with a hint of playfulness and after a moment those looks turned into something else. The small smiles slowly slipped from their faces and they both felt it… attraction... that draw.

Jane was the first to speak, breaking the tension in the small space. "I'm… um, going to take a quick look around," she stammered. The brunette pulled her jacket back on before she opened the door and stepped out of the car.

After Jane left, Maura let out the breath she had been holding and shook her head. Why did Jane have to be so damn alluring?

After Jane made sure their perimeter was secure, she grabbed a roll of toilet paper and announced she had some business to take care of. Meanwhile, Maura made herself busy setting up their sleeping area for the night.

When Jane tiredly came trudging back, she saw that the backdoor of the station wagon was open. As she came closer she found Maura in the spacious trunk lying on top of a sleeping bag. She was resting on her stomach with her elbows propping her up as she held an open book in her hands.

"Hey, where did you get that?"

Maura tore her eyes from the page and looked up. "I found it in a suitcase." She held up the book so Jane could see the cover. "It seems someone is a fan of Pride & Prejudice," she smiled.

"Wonderful," the brunette yawned.

"I take it you've never read it," Maura replied, turning the book back.

"Pride and Prejudice? It's one of my favorites."

"Really?" Maura's face seemed to brighten but then quickly slipped into a disappointed pout when she saw the amusement in Jane's expression. "Wait. You're being sarcastic aren't you?"

"You're catching on fast," Jane smirked.

Maura sighed heavily and focused her attention on the book once more. "You should rest now."

The brunette eyed the other sleeping bag next to Maura and her jaw muscles clenched nervously. She was supposed to sleep there? Next to Maura? In such small quarters? She was not sure if she could handle being that close to the blonde.

In a split second decision, Jane reached forward and pulled the extra sleeping bag from the vehicle. Maura looked up and frowned at her. "What are you doing?"

Jane bundled up the bag in her arms and walked a few feet away from the car. "I'm getting some sleep, per your request."

"No, what are you doing over there? The sole purpose of me moving everything to the front seats was for both of us to have room to lie in the back."

"You can sleep there. I can sleep out here." The brunette shrugged as though it were no big deal. She folded out the sleeping bag and laid it on the ground.

Maura looked at her in disbelief. "Jane, there's plenty of room for both of us in here."

"It's okay, really." The brunette crouched down and unzipped the sleeping bag.

The blonde watched her carefully and narrowed her eyes with curiosity. "Is there a reason you're not sleeping in the car with me? We've slept together before."

"That was different," Jane mumbled, unable to look into the blonde's eyes.

"How?" Jane stopped what she was doing and gave Maura an incredulous look. The blonde raised her eyebrows. "Oh… I see. Would you feel more comfortable if we fornicated first?"

"Maura…" Jane tiredly said.

"Then would you stop being so illogical and come sleep up here with me?"

Jane settled down on the sleeping bag and shook her head. "I'm good right here."

"Fine," Maura huffed in annoyance. "Continue to be stubborn and sleep on the hard ground. See if I care."

"Fine."

"Fine." The blonde lifted the book to her face so Jane was blocked from her view. After a few seconds she lowered the book once more. "I'm starting to find I dislike your trait of stubbornness very much." She then lifted the novel to her nose again. She hated that she felt somewhat hurt that Jane would not sleep near her.

Jane gave no reply as she made herself comfortable in the sleeping bag. She felt it was the best decision for her to keep her distance from Maura. The brunette had made it her responsibility to protect her. She could not allow herself to fall deeper into her feelings for Maura. She would not cross that line. Not when she had to watch over her. Not now. The brunette turned onto her uninjured shoulder and closed her eyes.

Maura read until there was barely enough light left outside. The moon overhead provided a pale blue glow that allowed some visibility in the darkness. After placing the book aside, Maura looked over at the still form on the ground a few feet away. Jane must have finally found sleep, she figured. There was a chill in the air and she knew Jane was willing to freeze than be close to her. What was the brunette so afraid of? That she'd jump her bones? And would that even be a bad thing? Maura shook her head and decided to get a bit more sleep of her own. She chose to leave the trunk door open. It made her feel safer being able to see Jane. She snuggled into the sleeping bag and closed her eyes.

* * *

Maura was unaware of how much time had passed when she was awakened by horrific screams. The blonde sat up with a start and frantically looked around for the source of the noise. Her eyes immediately landed on a tossing and turning form on the ground. Jane. The brunette was thrashing back and forth with her eyes tightly squeezed shut as though she were in pain. Maura realized Jane was having one of her terrifying nightmares she had spoken about. Without a second thought, Maura scrambled out of the car and hurried over to the distressed woman. She crouched down beside the brunette and leaned over her. "Jane," she tried.

The brunette was unresponsive and flagrantly continued to thrash her head side to side. Her arms were twitching and her eyes were moved rapidly behind her closed eyelids.

"Jane!" Maura called louder this time.

"No! Please! No!" Jane cried out in agony.

Maura's heart stung at the helpless cries that were coming from the brunette. "Jane!" She placed a firm grip on Jane's shoulder, attempting to give her a shake. As soon as she made contact, a strong grip latched onto her wrist. Maura gasped in surprise at the action and Jane's eyes shot open. Before Maura could speak, the brunette lunged forward and practically tackled her to the ground. With a stunned gasp, Maura found herself flat on her back. The brunette was on top of her, pinning both of her wrists to the ground on either side of her head.

"Who sent you?!" Jane shouted in her face. Her brown eyes were dark with rage and distrust.

"Ja…"

"Answer me, damn it!"

"Jane, it's me! Maura!" The blonde shouted desperately.

Jane's frantic breathes ghosted against her face as the brunette seemed to be trying to process the other woman's words. After a few seconds, the crazy gleam in Jane's eyes suddenly seemed to disappear and the tension in the brunette's muscles slowly dissipated. She even loosened her hold on the blonde's wrists.

Maura noticed this and saw the recognition creeping into the brunette's expression. "Jane…" she gently beckoned, trying to bring the brunette back to reality.

"Maura?" Jane breathed. Her tone of voice sounded confused and lost.

They laid there, staring into each other's eyes.

"Yes. It's me..." the blonde gently replied. "You were having a nightmare, Jane. I was trying to wake you."

Jane was still attempting to calm her breathing and her heart was still pounding in her chest. She looked down at their position and then back into the blonde's face. Her expression soon morphed into pained shame. "Oh, oh, shit…" she spoke in a panicked whisper. "I'm sorry. Sorry…"

The blonde slightly shook her head. She understood the long-term symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. It was nothing Jane could control. "It's okay," she whispered back.

Jane looked the blonde over. "Did I hurt you?" The brunette asked in a soft tone.

Maura saw the genuine concern in the brunette's brown puppy eyes and it melted her. She silently shook her head. Jane let out a sigh of relief, temporarily closing her eyes.

Maura watched as the stress seemed to drain from the brunette's body. The blonde reached up and brushed back some of the brunette's hair from her face. "Come lay down with me," she gently requested. "Will you?"

Jane looked into Maura's caring eyes that almost looked purple in the glow of the moonlight. She was too exhausted to argue with the blonde or think about her reasoning for sleeping on the ground in the first place. She simply agreed and nodded her head slowly. Her positive response seemed to please the blonde. Maura leaned up then and gently kissed the corner of Jane's mouth. The brunette sucked in a breath and closed her eyes at the contact. Maura's lips were so soft and warm. They were better than she remembered. In this moment, she felt so safe and cared for. How does this woman have the power to make her feel this way? The blonde pulled back and laid her head back on the ground. Jane opened her eyes and stared into Maura's. Her heart constricted at the tender, caring look the blonde gave her. Jane found herself falling deeper into this woman and before she could stop herself, she slowly leaned down and placed a soft kiss of her own on the corner of Maura's mouth. The blonde gasped and Jane felt the body beneath her shiver. The brunette pulled back but her lips never left the blonde's face, still lightly touching her skin. Maura kept her eyes closed, basking in the brunette's closeness. She awaited the brunette's next move. Jane's lips never lost contact with her skin as she slowly began to graze from the corner of Maura's mouth to the fullness of her lips. Neither one of them moved as they shared the same breath. Their lips were lightly brushing for a few moments until Jane pressed forward. The blonde gasped at the gentle kiss and slowly began to reciprocate. Their slightly parted lips unhurriedly moved against each other in a slow dance and Maura found herself releasing a soft hum of pleasure. The kiss was not meant to be lustful. There was no tongue. This kiss was meant to serve as a sweet gesture of comfort. They both knew this.

Jane slowly broke the kiss and leaned back, looking into the blonde's face. Maura's eyes were still closed. She waited for those hazel eyes to meet her own and they silently stared for a while. No words were spoken. No words were necessary. The brunette shifted her body and then then lowered her head to rest on Maura's chest and closed her eyes. Maura was slightly taken by surprise at the affectionate move but wrapped her arms around the brunette. Jane needed this. She needed to know that another human being had her and was willing to protect her for once; even if it's only from nightmares. They laid there for several minutes until Maura spoke. "Jane, let's move to the car." She shifted to sit up and Jane leaned back to stand on her feet.

Maura grabbed the brunette's sleeping bag from the ground and they walked over to the station wagon. Jane silently watched as the blonde spread out the sleeping bag in the car and then gestured for her to lie down. She climbed into the vehicle and rested on top of the sleeping bag instead of in between. Maura soon followed and situated herself next to the brunette. Maura wasted no time and wrapped her arm around Jane's middle. She remembered her thoughts of wanting to be there when the brunette needed protecting. Now it was her chance. They both closed their eyes and sleep soon found them.

* * *

Jane's eyes slowly crept open but she immediately shielded them with her forearm as sunlight penetrated her irises. It was early morning and scent of fresh air, trees, and dirt was in the air. Jane actually felt rested. She had slept for hours; but how? She opened her eyes once more and realized she was staring at the ceiling of the station wagon. Her mind began to flashback to the previous night. Maura. Maura had woken her from a nightmare. They kissed. Maura held her. They moved to the car. Maura. She turned to her left and expected to see the honey-blonde beside her but instead was greeted by an empty sleeping bag. Jane quickly sat up and looked around the inside of the car.

"Maura?"

Jane quickly pushed herself out of the station wagon. "Fuck," she cringed in pain as she accidentally bumped her injured arm against part of the car.

Finally, getting to her feet, she turned in circles and looked for the blonde. She was nowhere in sight. "Maura?!" She shouted.

No answer.

She ran over to the tree line, hoping that the blonde might have gone to use the restroom. "Maura!" She shouted once again.

"Jane?" The familiar voice answered.

The brunette heard the Maura and relief flooded her. She jogged in the direction she heard Maura's voice. "Maura."

Jane soon saw the blonde's form emerging from the thickness of trees, but became on edge when she saw another person walking not too far behind her. She reached at the back of her waistband and realized her gun wasn't there. In a frenzy she looked around on the leaf covered ground. She had hid it under the sleeping bag when she was lying on the ground last night. Maura and the stranger were closer now. Jane fell to her knees in the spot where her gun should be. She quickly moved aside some leaves and soon found her weapon. Maura and an African American man emerged from the trees and Jane stood to her feet aiming her weapon. Both Maura and the man were stunned at the sight.

"Jane?"

The brunette narrowed her eyes at the stranger, ignoring Maura. She kept her gun trained on the man. "_You_ don't move," she said to stranger. "Maura, come stand behind me."

"But Jane, he's…"

"I'm not kidding, Maura. Get behind me, now," she demanded.

Maura seemed to give the stranger a wary look before doing as she was told.

"Hands up." Jane demanded to the man. He did as he was told. His face was full of uncertainty and a bit of panic. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I… I'm…" he stuttered out.

"Speak up!"

"I'm Barry. Barry Frost. Please don't shoot me!"

Maura came up close behind Jane and placed a hand on the brunette's arm. "Jane, put the gun down. He wants to help us."

"Really…" She said, not taking her eyes off the stranger. "How did you know we were out here, Barry?"

"I… I didn't. This is part of my land. My farm is not too far from here… just over these hills."

Jane still kept her weapon trained on him. He looked a few years younger than Maura, possibly early thirties. He was clean shaven, had friendly caramel eyes and a baby face. But that was not enough to deter Jane. She was not ready to trust anyone.

"Jane, I came across Barold in the woods after reliving my bladder, which… was not a very pleasant experience to endure outdoors…"

"Maura," Jane mumbled, keeping the gun trained on the man.

"I did hide from him at first when I saw him in the woods, but I judged from his overalls, dirty gloves, and working boots that he was not a threat. That he was a local and could possibly help us."

"So what? You struck up a conversation?"

"Yes, actually," Barry cautiously spoke up. "Your friend informed me that you're low on gas and may not have enough to make it into town. I offered my help."

Jane eyed Barry for a long moment. "And you live just over the hill?" She questioned suspiciously.

"Yes," he nodded.

"You sound American to me. You don't even have a French accent." Jane took a step forward. "How do you explain that?"

"I… I am American," he stammered. "My wife and I moved to France about three years ago from Chicago."

"Chicago? Now you're suddenly a good ole farmer?"

Barry was about to speak but Maura interjected. "Jane, he's offered to take us in for a while. We could eat real food, rest in a bed, shower… I really want a shower, Jane."

The man gestured to Jane's arm. "I see your wound is seeping through the bandages." Jane glanced down at her arm and noticed the crimson color making itself visible through the bandage. "My wife can redress that for you. She should also be done with breakfast by now," he offered. "If you care to join us that is."

"Please, Jane. Let him help us?" Maura seemed to pout like a small child.

The brunette glanced at Maura and then back at the man. He seemed friendly enough but Jane knew to always keep her guard up. "Okay, _Barold_," She drawled out his name. She lowered her weapon but was ready to use it at any given moment. "Lead the way."

* * *

**A/N: Still liking it? Please let me know your opinions! **


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